Kyoko's Fairytale
by Kurisutiina-chan
Summary: Kyoko is offered a major role in a new tv drama. The only problem: it looks like her sempai Ren's her leading man, and drama follows Kyoko wherever she goes. What's this about a trip to America? NEXT CHAPTER: March, 2012 finally .
1. Chapter 1: Once Upon a Time

**Disclaimer: Skip Beat! is not my creation. If it was, I would be pleasing all of you by making the new chapter instead of working on this.**

**Authoress' Notes: And so begins my new story. I know this tale is one that is overdone, and yet it remains an enjoyable classic - the whole Ren and Kyoko starring opposite each other in a romantic production. However, the details can be altered so much that a whole new story emerges every time an author undertakes it. I hope that my story will be very different from any you have previously read (I have a book full of ideas I haven't seen in any stories yet, though that doesn't mean they have never been done...just that I haven't come across them). My writing style is also different, as is every author's, and I hope that you will enjoy it. I appreciate reviews and criticism - both help me write better. Outright flames are just annoying. Let me know if you think the story is moving too fast, or too slow. The same if I'm making the characters to OOC - this is only my second Skip Beat! fanfiction and I only read the entire manga at the start of Christmas break. Be patient with me and help me, and hopefully a great story that you love, as much as I do, will come out of it. I can't say how frequently I'll update since I don't know what my new semester will be like, though I say at the very least I hope to update once a month until May - when my updates should become a lot more frequent with a huge increase in homework free time. Hope you like it.**

**It all starts in 3...2...1...ACTION!**

* * *

"Moko-san!" Kyoko yelled, running through the hallway to catch up to her friend who was very noticeable in her bright pink jumpsuit that was a trademark of the Love Me section of LME.

Kotonami Kanae turned around with a grimace on her face, and stepped aside just in time to avoid Kyoko's flailing arms.

Kyoko stumbled past Kanae, almost crashing to the floor. She managed to regain her balance however and turned back to face her first female friend with tears pooling in her eyes.

"Moko-san! I've missed you so much! It's been almost a whole week since I last saw you," Kyoko babbled excitedly going in for another hug.

Kanae sighed heavily and avoided Kyoko's arms once again, "Mo! Do you always have to get so worked up? Like you said, it's only been a week." But inside, Kanae was very happy. As much as she had tried to keep Kyoko at a safe distance, she had found it impossible. And now she was stuck with Kyoko because she liked her too much and found her strange behavior surprisingly endearing.

"But it's been an eventful week!" Kyoko continued unperturbed. She had long accepted Kanae's personality and knew that in spite of Kanae's sometimes less than enthusiastic responses she really was her best friend. The makeup Kanae had bought her and given her on her birthday, just because she had thought Kyoko would like it and not because she knew when her birthday was, was proof enough of that fact.

"Oh really?" Kanae asked, fully expecting Kyoko to prattle on about something insignificant, but preparing to listen nonetheless.

"Of course! Would I ever exaggerate?" Kyoko replied.

'_Yes,' _Kanae thought in her head. Out loud what she said was, "What do you need to tell me, Kyoko?"

"I've been offered the lead in a television drama!" Kyoko exclaimed excitedly.

Kanae was actually speechless. The lead in a television drama was a big deal. Kyoko was already becoming well known for her roles as Natsu in _Box "R" _and Mio in _Dark Moon_. The fact that she had played the tragic angel in Fuwa Sho's music video and had done the Kyurara commercial hadn't done anything to harm her growing popularity in the business. Kanae was excited enough for her friend to take the bait. "So what's the role?" she asked.

"If I accept, I'll be playing the privileged daughter of a mob boss, who for the last sixteen years of her life has been enjoying her family's wealth while trying to keep out of the family business that she hates. Then her mother leaves her father, and her father starts to fall apart. Her three older brothers aren't exactly bright men, and with her father distraught, soon business deals are in danger and mob members begin questioning her father's leadership. My character, Saki, can't completely avoid the mob business at home, as much as she tries, because her male relatives discuss it freely in front of her. One night, she gets fed up of their arguing and offers her opinion on something they're discussing over dinner. Then before she knows it, she's dictating all of the mob's business behind the scenes while still trying to live the life of a normal teenage girl," Kyoko explained to Kanae.

"At the same time," Kyoko continued excitedly, "she has to deal with these two boys from school who are both vying for her attention. What she doesn't know...at least when the story starts, is that one of them is the son of the chief of police while the other is the son of her father's rival - the leader of another mob. Both have been ordered by their fathers to try and get close to her."

"The role isn't exactly what I fantasize about," Kyoko kept explaining while Kanae groaned, knowing exactly what kind of roles her friend would prefer - princesses and fairies came to mind - "but it's not a bully role either. My character is an intelligent young woman who's just trying to continue to be a normal high school girl while doing what's necessary to take care of her family. Of course she'll become more jaded and less innocent over the course of the drama, but there's no way she'll ever be as dark as Mio or as twisted as Natsu," Kyoko finished telling Kanae.

Kanae was silent. The role was an amazing opportunity. It could very well become a popular drama.

"So what do you think, Moko-san? Should I take the role? I'm supposed to tell Sawara-san today what I've decided," Kyoko continued, looking at Kanae with imploring eyes.

Kanae was silent for only the split second it took her to process what Kyoko had said, and then she was furious. "Of course you have to take it!" she yelled at Kyoko who just stared at her in shock. "This is a role that could get you noticed by all sorts of directors, producers, and casting agents. It would also show them that you're not only suited for bully type roles. It's the kind of drama that could become popular with people across the country. It could really get your career going! How could you not take it? That's just dumb."

"But my character will probably fall in love with one of the two boys over the course of the drama. I don't know how to act out love!" Kyoko exclaimed, letting her one worry over the role be known to her closest friend.

Now it was Kanae's turn to stare in shock. "That's the only reason you're questioning whether to take it or not?" she asked while staring at Kyoko dumbfounded.

Kyoko nodded her head silently.

"Well if she actually does fall in love, it can't happen until later in the drama, right? At first it'll be casual with the two guys competing for her attention, right?" Kanae asked Kyoko patiently, trying to convince her friend to take the great opportunity ahead of her. Kyoko nodded her head some more, hope springing into her eyes. "Then we have time for you to work on expressing love. It's not like you really have to be in love or anything. It's just acting after all!"

Kyoko was bobbing her head along furiously with Kanae's words now.

"Now go tell Sawara-san that you'll take the job!" Kanae ordered in a loud voice, pointing in the general direction of Sawara's office.

"Alright, Moko-san!" Kyoko exclaimed excitedly before finally catching her friend in a hug. "Thanks!" she yelled over her shoulder as she then ran off towards her manager Takenori Sawara's office.

Kanae had given Kyoko all the encouragement she needed to take on the role. Kyoko had already liked the character a lot when Sawara had first told her about the offer. A strong female who would essentially be trying to ignore her family's background and act like the stereotypical high school girl so as to get the stereotypical high school experience. Of course her world would be thrown into disarray and she would become unable to ignore her family's background any longer, but it was the effort that counted. Another plus of the role that Sawara-san had mentioned to her was that she'd get to learn to drive - a real fancy, expensive motorcycle. The only reason she had hesitated at all was because of the feelings of love she would have to express for her co-stars.

The familial love she'd have to express for the actors playing her character's father, mother and brothers, and even friends, wouldn't be easy - she'd have to forget her childhood and think of the people who made up her family and friends now. And then, of course, her character would have to fall in love with either the police chief's son or her father's rival's son - it was unavoidable in a drama like this. That would be a lot harder to express.

She sighed heavily, but she was now determined to take on this role. Like Kanae had said - it was all just acting. She was an actress! Even if she couldn't necessarily feel love in her own life, that didn't mean that her character was unable to feel it. Her character wasn't her and didn't have the same history she did. _'And it's a lead role!' _Kyoko added mentally, suddenly excited again.

'_Look at me now, Shotaro!'_ she continued on in her head triumphantly, knowing that she was getting closer and closer to her goal.

Because of her interior rambling, she wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings. So when she crashed into a hard body and was brought back to the world in front of her, she snapped out of it and immediately started blushing and apologizing profusely in a very Kyoko-like way.

"Sorry, sorry!" she exclaimed over and over while bowing low and staring at the person's feet. Sudden recognition dawned on her however while she stared at the man's large shoes throughout her furious, numerous, and rapid apologies.

"Tsuruga-san! I should have been paying more attention. I really am sorry!" Kyoko exclaimed when she finally straightened and turned her gaze on the man's face instead of his feet.

Tsuruga Ren stared back at her, a small smile playing on his lips. Running into Mogami Kyoko always cheered him up. This time, the run-in was especially welcome since he hadn't seen Kyoko in nearly a week. Even though they were still filming _Dark Moon _together, their schedules had been very conflicting lately, and they hadn't been on set together these last few days.

Inside Kyoko's head, her mind was racing. She wanted to tell Ren all about how she had landed a new role in another television drama, and how it was even a lead this time. She wanted to show him that he wasn't wasting his time hanging around her and being her sempai. She wanted him to be proud of her progress...but she didn't want to just burst out and tell him. It would be rude - almost like bragging. She tore her gaze from Ren's careful stare and fixed her eyes on his shirt so that she wouldn't be tempted to just blab it out under his knowing gaze.

"It's alright, Mogami-san," Ren replied maybe a little too cheerfully to her apology, unable to completely keep the happiness of seeing her out of his voice. "You seemed very excited. It's understandable that you weren't paying very much attention to your surroundings. Would you maybe share the reason for your happiness with me?" he continued, hoping to learn what had been the cause of the joy he had witnessed in her eyes before she had started babbling apologies.

"Oh!" Kyoko said happily, glad for the invitation to tell Ren her news. She responded, "I've been asked to be the lead in a new television drama!" Her excitement was quickly coming back with that statement, and she managed to look back up at Ren's face to see that he was giving her his genuine smile.

"Could I ask what drama this is?" he continued, unwilling to let her leave his presence yet.

Kyoko's brain was failing under his blinding smile, but she managed to pull the name of the drama out of the recesses of her mind. "It's called _Mob Daughter_," she managed to get out.

'_Really?'_ Ren thought to himself. What a coincidence, because he had been offered a lead role in the same drama. He immediately suspected that the president of LME, Takarada Lory, had had something to do with it. Instead of saying anything to Kyoko about his involvement in the drama though, he smiled even more brightly at her, and told her she should continue on her way.

Kyoko immediately remembered that she was supposed to be telling Sawara-san that she would be taking the job, and with a quick goodbye to Ren, she sped off, leaving Ren alone in the hallway.

'_Time to go see Lory,'_ he thought as he watched Kyoko turn a corner and disappear, yet again, from his sight.

* * *

"So," Ren began when he was seated in Lory's office - which was presently decorated as an underwater cave. Lory himself was wearing a mermaid's tail and carrying a trident around. Ren thought in passing that this was one getup Kyoko would love.

"So...what?" Lory asked Ren with a broad grin on his face.

"I heard Mogami-san's been asked to be the lead in a new tv drama. One that sounds like it could become really popular," Ren started, staring at Lory to see what his reaction would be.

Lory's grin got even wider. "Is that so?" he asked. "I might have heard a little something about that. I mean, director Shingai Seiji only came to see me personally after all, absolutely begging to have her. Apparently, since he first saw what she could do on the set of _Ring Doh_, before she'd even had any training, he's been following her career. He's convinced that she'll be perfect in the role, and I wholeheartedly agree. Plus I feel it's exactly the role that will teach her that she can love, and also to want to be loved by others."

"Hmm," Ren began casually, not quite sure how to respond to the president's comments, but then his voice hardened as he continued, "so I guess you'd know why I got offered a lead role in the same drama then, wouldn't you?"

"Well of course director Shingai would offer the role to you first," Lory said it as if it was the answer to one plus one, and Ren was a little boy who just kept saying three instead of two. "You are the Tsuruga Ren. The most famous entertainer in Japan. Director Shingai wants the best for this drama since it has such potential to succeed. You are the best."

"So you had nothing to do with the offer then?" Ren finally asked point blank.

"For once, I didn't meddle," Lory promised Ren solemnly before returning to his usual giddy state. "Though I can't say I disapprove of his choice. So are you going to take the role? From what director Shingai told me, it seems that the cop's son is the one who wins the girl's heart." Lory had the audacity to giggle after that - he knew after all how Ren felt about Kyoko.

Shingai hadn't told Ren anything definite - because he didn't '_want to reveal everything to the cast and crew yet to keep it fresh'_. But what Shingai had told Ren, when he had called him personally to offer him the role, was that he really hoped Ren would take it - especially because Kyoko and him had looked really good together during the acting test on set for _Ring Doh, 'a necessity for true chemistry between actors'_. For Ren, this was enough of a hint to see that his character was the one who would get close with Kyoko's - and because of that he wasn't sure if he could accept the role. He was sure him and Kyoko would have to kiss at some point during the drama. And frankly, he didn't know if he could handle that. But at the same time...he couldn't pass up the opportunity to spend more time with and be close to the woman he loved. Plus he really did like the character that was Yahiko, the police chief's son, and he wanted a chance to bring him to life.

Of course he would take the role. If only to get to spend time with Kyoko.

"I'll take it," Ren answered Lory.

Lory smiled triumphantly. "Oh this is going to be so good! I can't wait to watch it. The character growth. The crimes. The deaths. The love story! It's the recipe for the perfect drama. This is going to be so much fun!"

Ren could only hope Lory was right.

* * *

"I'm so glad to hear that!" Sawara Takenori said happily after Kyoko had told him that she would gladly accept the role of Saki in _Mob Daughter_. "The director will be very happy that you accepted too. I think you might know him - director Shingai Seiji?"

Kyoko remembered him well. He had let her take and keep a picture of herself from when she had been dressed up, and made up, as the beautiful Choko from_ Ring Doh_. She loved the picture, and she stared at it whenever she felt uncomfortable with her appearance. If she was feeling down, it made her happy to know that she could look like a princess.

"Yes. I remember him," Kyoko answered a little subdued. He was a perfectionist if what she had seen on the set of _Ring Doh _was any indication of how he usually worked. It was an honor to be asked to star in his drama though, and Kyoko only hoped that she wouldn't make him regret his choice.

"Someone will drop off the script for the first episode here in the next two hours, so don't forget to stop by my office and pick it up before you go home. Filming starts in two weeks already, and before then you're going to have to make sure and coordinate your schedule so that you can make it to all of your jobs. I know that _Dark Moon_ is almost done and should hardly pose a conflict in two weeks' time, but you still have to organize your schedule with _Box "R" _and _Kimagure Rock_ in mind," Sawara told Kyoko calmly.

Inside though, he was brimming with pleasure. Kyoko's rapid success was proof that both him and Lory had been right in keeping her in LME. She would explode and become a top name in the business all too soon if she continued at the same rate she was currently going. _'And to think, it was her own initiative that landed her the Kyurara commercial and resultantly everything after that,' _he thought.

"Now, run along. I'm sure you have something better to do than lounge around here," Sawara finally finished, ushering Kyoko out of his office so that he could make the call to director Shingai.

Kyoko flashed him a grin and then ran straight to the Love Me office to see if there was anything she could do to keep busy until it was time for her to go home. When she burst through the door however, she was sorely disappointed to see Amamiya Chiori sitting there reading a book. Not because she didn't like Chiori - the two of them had slowly become friends after the whole stairs incident - but because that meant there was currently no work to be done. Chiori was as diligent as Kanae and Kyoko when it came to performing Love Me jobs, and she wouldn't be in here if there was work to be done.

Now Kyoko would have time to brood over how she was going to act out her new character - most importantly the stupid love part.

"Hello, Chiori-san!" Kyoko called.

"Hey, Kyoko-san!" Chiori called back cheerfully. "I ran into Kanae-san a few minutes ago and she said that you had been offered the lead in a new television drama. Congratulations."

"Thanks!" Kyoko said while a slight blush came to her cheeks. "I actually just came back from telling Sawara-san that I'm accepting the role."

"That's great!" Chiori replied honestly. Had this been before she had joined the Love Me section, she would have been angered by Kyoko's success. As it was, she was genuinely happy that Kyoko was getting another opportunity to show the world what an excellent actress she was. Their friendship had had a rocky start, if you could even call Chiori's initial hatred of Kyoko the beginnings of friendship, but since then, the two girls had gotten to know each other really well on set and while doing Love Me jobs and they were friends.

"So there's nothing to do then?" Kyoko asked Chiori a little sadly while she took a seat.

"Not right now. Though it's been a little too quiet. Something's bound to come up soon," Chiori answered a little quizzically, wondering why Kyoko would be upset that there was, for once, no work to be done.

"Oh. Okay," Kyoko said while leaning back against the wall and closing her eyes. Chiori let her be, completely used to Kyoko's mood swings. Kyoko meanwhile was in her fantasy land, imagining what her character would be like.

Saki would have a casual, playful walk, like an unaffected young girl - maybe like the girl's she had gone to school with... How would she talk though? She would be perky and enthusiastic when dealing with her friends, and then when dealing with her father and brothers - caring, maybe a little exasperated, confident even if she didn't feel that way just to keep them all together. What about how she would behave with the two guys? Cool and aloof? She'd keep her distance and guard herself...at first anyways. She wouldn't be fake with them, but impersonal to begin with. With whom would she be scared though, because she would be scared and worried. With herself maybe? She wouldn't be able to confide in any of her friends from school, and she'd have to wear a brave face for her family...which left her fears for herself alone.

Kyoko groaned mentally. If only it was really that easy. There was more to bringing her character to life than just thinking about her. She needed to fully become the character. Maybe...maybe tomorrow she could make the whole day an acting exercise. _'Yeah,' _Kyoko thought becoming happier again, _'I'll just get together what I can of the character tonight, and then tomorrow when I wake up, I'll spend the day being Saki.'_

"Okay," Kyoko began muttering under her breath, "she's rich and fairly happy. She ignores what she doesn't like about her family until she has to become involved. At that point, she gets in deep and she does her best for her family. It seems like she's the type who would throw herself into anything she's doing wholeheartedly. And it seems like she really cares about her father and brothers - enough to do something that she wanted to spend her life never knowing about to protect the family business that she hates."

"Kyoko!"

Kyoko opened her eyes and looked up into Chiori's face to see that Chiori was looking down at her, clearly concerned.

"What?" Kyoko asked innocently, curious about the look of concern in Chiori's eyes.

"I called your name a few times and you didn't answer. Sorry. I guess you were in your own world, huh?"

"Sort of," Kyoko answered scratching the back her head sheepishly. "So what did you need?"

"We have a job to do. They want us to bring some props over to one of LME's sets. They need all three of us to carry everything or else I wouldn't have bothered you. Kanae-san is going to meet us in the prop room," Chiori explained.

Kyoko immediately snapped to attention. "My two friends and I on a mission together! Yay! Let's go meet Moko-san, Chiori-san!"

And with that, Kyoko danced happily out of the room with Chiori right on her heels, laughing genuinely at her friend's antics.

* * *

The rest of the day passed rather uneventfully. Kyoko did some more LME work with Kanae and Chiori. Then she picked up her script from Sawara, and went back to the Daruma-ya where she flopped down on her bed and read said script. She thought and she read, then she thought some more. She was starting to understand her character, despite the fact that Saki didn't really fit with any of her own experiences. But tomorrow's enactment would be good because it would help her to develop her character more. She would have a chance to think like her character and respond to situations like her character would.

Not to mention that she would have a chance to get Ren's opinion on it all. They were both due on set in the morning for _Dark Moon _tomorrow. Whenever she didn't have to act out Mio, she would be Saki. And then, at the end of the day, she could ask him what he thought.

'_You know what? It might actually be fun,' _she giggled in her head.

Then, with a yawn, Kyoko settled her head against her pillow, closed her eyes, and let sleep overtake her.


	2. Chapter 2: And The Journey Began

**Disclaimer: Skip Beat! is not my creation. If it was, I would be pleasing all of you by making the new chapter instead of working on this. Which was supposed to be out Monday, no?  
**

**Authoress' Notes: So here is the brand new chapter, and I would like to dedicate it to my first reviewers Saya-chan, Shiroyuki76, and Yuki-Yasha Higurashi . Thanks so much guys! And yeah, Yuki-Yasha Higurashi, Ren is going to be playing a student! A graduating one of course... I mean he's only 21 despite being very tall. On an actual show on tv, Glee (which is great by the way), they have 27 year olds playing highschoolers, so why can't Ren? It's not unheard of, in fact it's more common, and he's really not that old looking!**

**Anyways, I know this story might seem like it's going awfully slow right now, but it can't all be fluff and adventure. This chapter is also out a lot earlier than I expected since I had some free time to write this week. Don't expect a week and a half between updates next time though...sorry. It's only the first week of classes and I already have a ton of work. I will do my absolute best though not to keep you hanging. I am also potentially considering a beta reader just because I can't always catch the mistakes. If anyone is interested, let me know.  
**

**Kyoko's Fairytale continues in 3...2...1...ACTION!**

* * *

The sun was shining brightly through her window, and she didn't know whether to be happy that it was a beautiful day, or pissed off that she had been woken up before her alarm. Every precious moment of sleep counted. Instead of dwelling on it, she made some incoherent sounds and tossed away her covers, climbing out of bed and reaching aimlessly in the general direction of where her clothes should be. Last night she had already planned the perfect outfit for today's activity - looking put-together took a little bit of effort after all.

Finally, her hand made contact with the jean skirt and pale pink tank top she had chosen the night before. The white blouse that she had picked to wear open on top of her tank had managed to fall to the floor and land on top of the white tennis shoes she had selected to match the casual look she was going for. She slipped everything on and then yawned again glancing at her alarm clock.

'_Three, two, one,' _she thought before she slammed the snooze button, silencing the alarm even before it had made any noise.

'_Now that that's taken care of,'_ her thoughts continued as she went to her stash of makeup and grabbed a black eyeliner pencil and some mascara. She went to the bathroom where she washed her face and brushed her teeth. Then using the mirror there, she applied her mascara and eyeliner quickly and artfully, not using too much and keeping in tune with the rest of her relaxed look. Next, she ran a brush through her hair, pulling it into two low pigtails on either side of her head. She was done.

"Too bad the motorcycle's in the shop today," she sighed. "Oh well. At least riding the bike will be exercise," her voice picked up its usual cheery tone when she thought of the calories she would burn.

She glanced at the clock next to her bed and debated internally whether or not she had time for breakfast. On the one hand, if she ate, she'd have to bike faster to make sure to make it to school on time and she might get all gross and sweaty. On the other hand, she could skip breakfast, and then she could ride slower - which meant of course less sweat.

"No breakfast it is," she finally decided before grabbing her bag and heading downstairs.

Thankfully, no one else in the house was up yet. She could make it out the door without anyone questioning her skipping a meal. She headed outside and grabbed her bike from around back before hopping on and pedaling off.

* * *

When she got to school, she was ten minutes early and perfectly sweat free. She locked up her bike and then headed inside, smiling and waving at the people she knew. When she finally reached the classroom, she saw her drama teacher sitting in his favorite chair looking a little nervous.

"Hi, Ogata-sensei!" she chirped while scanning the area for her friends.

Her teacher looked at her strangely before answering her in kind: "Hello, Kyoko-chan."

She frowned at her teacher, wondering how he could confuse her with someone else this far into the semester, and when she was working on the play with him too! Then she just brushed off the mistake and asked him what they would be working on that day.

"Ah, well we hope to be starting your scenes right after lunch, so right now you just need to go to makeup so they can start on the scar."

"Of course, Ogata-sensei!" she answered compliantly before waltzing off to where some of the students were doing the makeup for those students who were acting in the school play.

'_Ogata-sensei always wants the rehearsals to be so realistic. Costumes, makeup, everything!' _she thought while she walked through the hallways. She always had to get the scar makeup done before she practiced her scenes. She didn't mind though. Rather, she admired her teacher's dedication.

When she finally made her way to the room where the makeup was being done, she sat herself down at the request of one of her classmates and stared at her face in the mirror while they started powdering it and setting her up for the scar makeup that would take much too long to do.

Saki groaned when the first touch of the scar paint touched her cheek. It always reminded her of her brother's scar from the stupid fight he had gotten into when dealing with one of the more unruly clients of her father's m-. She stopped herself before she could continue even further down this line of thinking. She hated knowing how her father got the money to buy her the clothes she wore, the motorcycle she rode, the gorgeous house they lived in. She also hated that her brothers had gone and joined the stupid family business. At least there was no pressure for her to do the same. She was a girl. Girl's weren't welcome in the mob.

She suppressed another groan. The stupid mob. She was lucky her father didn't go around making his name known. She got to escape it all at school. She had her friends, she had her extra-curriculars, and she had her social life. And she had her number one rule: don't get involved. She imagined her father was the CEO of a big company and that that was where their money came from. If her friends asked how she could afford her motorcycle or her pool, that was also the lie she told. She just wanted to be normal. And being the rich daughter of a CEO was much more normal than being the daughter of a mob boss.

* * *

Ren walked in to the studio followed closely by Yashiro who was teasing him mercilessly about the fact that Kyoko was actually going to be on set with him today.

"I think I might have an important call to attend to at lunch," Yashiro hinted with a sly smile, "I guess you'll have to eat without my company, Ren."

Ren looked at Yashiro's smiling face and suppressed a shudder. It was almost creepy how interested his manager was in his love life - or lack thereof. Still, Ren was happy that Yashiro was excusing himself. Now he would get to spend some time relatively alone with Kyoko.

"Whatever," he casually answered Yashiro, much to his manager's disappointment. Yashiro loved teasing Ren about Kyoko, and was saddened when his teasing had no visible effects.

Yashiro was going to try again when he was interrupted by the director of _Dark Moon_, Ogata Hiroaki, rushing over to Ren.

"Ren-san," the director started babbling nervously, "I know that you have scenes to film, but since they only start in an hour, and your wardrobe and makeup only take fifteen minutes, I was hoping that maybe you could go see Kyoko-chan. She's acting a little strangely. Actually, I was hoping you might already know what's going on with her."

"Kyoko-san's acting strangely?" Yashiro asked, mercifully distracted from teasing poor Ren.

"Yes. She isn't really responding to her name and...well just behaving oddly in general. She called me Ogata-sensei. She's never done that before," Ogata tried to explain to Ren and Yashiro. "Really. If you just go talk to her, you'll see what I mean."

Ren wasn't too worried by this announcement. Kyoko often acted strangely, mostly because she reacted to things so uniquely. And if she wasn't brooding or in tears, whatever it was couldn't be too bad. Still, he dutifully followed the director to the makeup room where he saw Kyoko sitting in a chair having Mio's scar applied.

"Hello, Mogami-san," he greeted her, meeting her eyes in the mirror. She reacted strangely though. Her eyes gained a confused look and she stared at his reflection pensively.

"Ren-kun, why are you screwing up my name too?" she finally asked.

Ren was floored. She never called him by his first name. Ever. And screwing up her name? What could she mean? Did she want him to call her by her first name as well. He was about to ask her when Yashiro beat him to it.

"Kyoko-san?" Yashiro started curiously.

"Really now. After I already scolded Ren-kun, you mess up my name too, Yukihito-kun?" Kyoko said sounding well and truly exasperated. "Everyone thinks they're just so funny today. I mean, I know you guys know my name. We've only known each other for like forever. And it's so short and easy to remember too - so you really have no excuse. I just can't believe that you would actually forget a name like Saki." She sighed dramatically and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at Ren and Yashiro in the mirror.

Director Ogata, who stood hidden behind Ren and Yashiro gave them a "you see" look. Yashiro just kept staring at Kyoko dumbly while Ren thought about where he had heard that name before. Saki. It was right there in his memory... He had read it! _'That's right,' _he thought, _'I read it in the script last night.'_

"_Mob Daughter_," is what he said out loud in realization.

Yashiro and Ogata just looked at him blankly. Kyoko, however, tensed and looked really defensive. The makeup artist left her side just then to go get some more latex for the scar, and Kyoko whirled her chair around and stood up so that she could face Ren.

"What did you say, Ren-kun?" she asked him with a deceptively bright smile on her face. The smile was reflected in her eyes, but her voice held an angry, cutting undercurrent.

'_She's in character,' _Ren realized before a grin broke across his face.

"Nothing, Saki-chan. You're right. We were all just teasing you. But that's what friends do, no?" he asked her.

Saki's arms fell to her side and she smiled genuinely at Ren, the anger for him mentioning the mob gone. "I know, but that doesn't make it any less annoying. Plus, I skipped breakfast this morning and had to ride my bike to school because my motorcycle's getting fixed. So I wasn't exactly in the best of moods to begin with," she explained settling back into the chair so that the makeup artist could continue her work.

"I'll tell everyone to cut it out, Saki-chan. Don't worry about it. And I'll make sure you eat a big lunch to make up for the breakfast you skipped," Ren told her and he saw her relax even more with the friendly, normal conversation.

"Thanks, Ren-kun. You should go and get ready though. Aren't they practicing your scenes for the play soon?" she asked him.

"Of course. I'll see you later," he told her while he excused himself from the room, dragging a spluttering Yashiro with him.

When they had cleared the door and had strolled down the hallway a few paces, Ren stopped walking and looked at the bewildered director, who had followed them, and his own confused manager. "She's in character for her newest role," he explained. "Right now, she's a student at school and all of this is practice for a school play. She probably called you sensei because in her character's mind, you are a teacher. Yukihito-san and I are her close acquaintances - which is why she addressed us so informally, something Mogami-san would never do."

"In fact, everyone here would be either a classmate or a teacher since for her this is highschool. The name of her character is Saki, which is why she's not responding to her actual name. Her character is convinced it was just some big joke that everyone was calling her Kyoko," he finished explaining.

"How do you know all this?" Yashiro asked Ren, amazed by what he had just heard. He knew that Kyoko could become so immersed in a character that she wouldn't snap out of it until a scene was done, but all of this just for practice? He was impressed with her dedication.

Ren was also impressed. Not once had Kyoko faltered and broken character. Her personality and reactions were all Saki's, not her own. She was living as Saki and accommodating her act to her surroundings. She had only accepted the role yesterday and already she had made progress with the characterization. Ren knew Kyoko though, she was probably still struggling with how her character would deal with some of the more personal relationships. Saki was not complete, but Kyoko was trying to flesh her out.

"I've taken a role in the same drama," Ren finally answered Yashiro. "It's the new one by director Shingai Seiji called_ Mob Daughter_. Mogami-san accepted the lead role yesterday. If I hadn't known about her involvement though, I might not have guessed what was going on."

"So what do you propose we do?" Ogata asked Ren, worried that Kyoko would not be able to perform as Mio if she was acting out another character.

"Just tell everyone to call her Saki until she stops responding to the name and starts behaving like she normally does. This whole thing shouldn't affect her acting though. Mogami-san would never let an exercise like this affect her performance on set. She'll just go from Saki to Mio instead of from Kyoko to Mio. This all make sense in her head. Saki's performing in a highschool play, Mio is her role, and she'll act it out when she needs to," Ren explained to a suddenly very more relaxed Ogata.

"Alright then," the director breathed a sigh of relief, trusting Ren who knew Kyoko best. He had already started walking back to the set when he turned around and said, "She really is amazing isn't she? I'm so glad that I picked her to be Mio."

Ren had to agree.

* * *

"Saki-chan, you need to eat some more," Ren encouraged Kyoko in a complete reversal of their roles. Kyoko was still in character, and she was picking at her bento box instead of eating everything like she normally would. She also wasn't laying into Ren's eating habits and forcing him to finish his own box like she normally would. She really was a completely different person.

"I'm really not that hungry," Saki answered, pushing the box away from her.

Ren pushed it back. "You told me that you skipped breakfast today. Eat," he said to her, trying very hard not to laugh at how absurd this reversed situation was.

Saki grudgingly picked up a chop stick, stabbed it into something in the box without looking, and then popped that something into her mouth, chewing slowly and swallowing obviously. "Happy?" she questioned Ren when she was all done.

"Getting there," he answered and shoved the box closer to her, "now more."

This playful, relaxed attitude was not something he often got to see from Kyoko because she was almost always formal around him. And sure she was technically Saki right now, but Ren didn't really care. He was enjoying their time together regardless and he admired her dedication to simply practicing her new role.

Saki speared another bit of food with her chopstick. Then suddenly she grabbed Ren's chopstick and speared something from his bento box onto it before shoving it back into his hand. "If I have to eat, so do you," Saki told him, watching his chopstick and waiting.

Ren sighed. Even in character, somehow she had still figured out a way to make him eat. He popped the food into his mouth and watched as Saki did the same with a triumphant smile on her face. "There. That's better. Now if I'm going to get fat, so are you!" she teased.

Ren laughed. "Alright, alright," he said, and ate some more, satisfied that it also made Saki eat.

"The scenes you practiced today were really good, Ren-kun," Saki said after some chewing, "the ones that I saw anyway."

"Thanks. I'm sure your's will be excellent also," Ren told her smiling.

"I hope so." She grinned and Ren's heart faltered. Kyoko's smile, even if Saki was technically the one giving it, did that to him.

* * *

"Cut! And we're done for today! Good job, Kyo- I mean Saki-chan!"

Kyoko shook her head around a bit trying to shake off the remains of her character, and then opened her mouth and immediately began apologizing to the director, "Sorry for the confusion today, Ogata-san! I didn't mean to inconvenience anyone, but I thought everything would be okay as long as I still played Mio right. I really am sorry, but I just-"

Director Ogata just smiled at her. "Kyoko-chan, it's alright. We all now how into your roles you get, and it was no inconvenience for us. You performed perfectly. All of your scenes were only one take. Really, don't worry about it. We're all happy for you and your new role. You'll be great."

Everyone else on set murmured their agreement. They had all been calling Kyoko "Saki" since director Ogata had made a brief announcement to them that morning while Kyoko had been in makeup. He had told them Kyoko was practicing for a new role, and to support her by trying to remember to call her by her character's name instead of her own, and excusing any weird behavior. It had been a little weird for the people who knew her to call Kyoko "Saki" and watch her gush and bubble much more than usual (and without entering into any of her moods), but she had still slipped into Mio flawlessly when director Ogata had called the start of a scene. It was impressive for the crew and even the rest of the cast to witness.

Momose Itsumi walked over to Kyoko, who was still trying to shake off both Mio and Saki, and congratulated her. "That was great, Kyoko-san," she told her co-star, "you were totally on the ball with Mio, all while doing that whole acting exercise. I mean, I could see some elements of your own personality that you brought in to your character, but that was definitely not you on set today."

"Really? You saw some of my personality in Saki, Itsumi-san?" Kyoko asked curiously.

"Well, yeah. I mean you are rather kind to pretty much everyone, and when you're in a really good mood you do act sort of bubbly, you know," Itsumi tried to explain. "It must be great to be playing a character a lot more happy than Mio and Natsu."

"So Saki really came off as happy?" Kyoko asked excitedly, completely not hearing what Itsumi had said about ways her character was like herself. That's what Kyoko had been aiming for. She wanted Saki to seem happy and confident around everyone. She had realized that in the absence of anyone she could fully trust, Saki would keep all of her problems and troubles hidden inside herself, not letting anyone see them bring her down.

Kyoko hugged Itsumi and thanked her profusely for what she had said. Itsumi couldn't say she fully understood why Kyoko was so grateful, but guessed it was because she had complimented her character in some way.

"No problem, Kyoko-san," Itsumi laughed when Kyoko let go of her. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Kyoko waved to Itsumi as she left, and then she headed to her dressing room to ditch her wig, peel off the latex part of her scar, scrub her face quickly, and hop back into her own clothes. She needed to bike back to the Daruma-ya and she was trying to beat the coming darkness. But when she emerged from the room, Ren and Yashiro were waiting for her.

"I saw your bike outside, Mogami-san. I don't have any more jobs today and I thought I could put it in the trunk and give you a ride home. It's already getting dark," Ren told her as soon as she emerged.

"Oh. I wouldn't want to inconvenience you, Tsuruga-san," Kyoko began babbling, but Ren cut her off.

"It's no inconvenience," Ren told her, "it's on the way." He gave her a "don't argue with me" look that Yashiro backed up with some eager head nodding.

Kyoko gave a defeated sigh before saying, "Okay then. If you're sure it's not a bother."

"It's not," Ren assured her.

The three of them walked outside where Kyoko's bike was locked up. She crouched down and unlocked it, putting the chain and key in her bag. When she stood back up, she saw that Ren had already started wheeling her bike to where his car was parked. She immediately assumed that Ren had thought she was moving too slowly, and had taken her bike to speed things up.

"Tsuruga-san, you don't have to do that!" Kyoko exclaimed, having to run to catch up to him and Yashiro.

"Relax, Mogami-san. I'm just being a gentleman and helping you out," Ren told her. Kyoko was suddenly suspicious, remembering an incident that had occurred on her first day, before she had officially become a Love Me member at LME. This suspicion disappeared as fast as it had come on though when Yashiro spoke.

"Kyoko-san, it's okay to let people help you," Yashiro added with a smile.

Kyoko just blushed guiltily, scolding herself for thinking her bad thoughts, and followed the two men silently to Ren's car where she climbed into the back seat while Ren and Yashiro managed to fit her bike in Ren's trunk.

"Thanks again," Kyoko said when both of them had climbed into the car.

"Really, Mogami-san. It's no problem," Ren assured her.

And then there was silence.

Kyoko was looking out the window, so she didn't notice Yashiro in the front nudging Ren, trying to get him to speak to her. Ren meanwhile was concentrating very hard on ignoring the pointy elbow that kept jabbing him in the arm. Finally, Yashiro had had enough.

"Kyoko-san," he began, "I heard you're playing the main character in a television drama. Congratulations."

Kyoko smiled in the back seat and uttered her thanks.

Yashiro continued with a grin bigger than the Cheshire Cat's on his face, "Do you know who else is in the drama with you?" He wanted to draw Ren into the conversation somehow. Whether it was actually the man himself who spoke or just his name that came up, well, Yashiro didn't care.

Ren was suddenly paying attention to his manager's every single word. He hadn't told Kyoko he was in the same drama as her yet. If Yashiro told her, she'd probably think that Ren had been keeping that information from her for some reason. And then, most likely, she'd get upset with herself instead of with him.

Ren heard Kyoko's reply: "I actually have no clue. They just gave me the script for the first episode and said shooting starts in two weeks. I'm thinking there'll probably be a cast meeting or something before then. I hope so anyways. I'd like to meet everyone before filming begins. Maybe then I'll be a little less nervous."

"I'm sure they'll have some sort of prep meeting. They're probably just waiting for confirmation from all the actors who will be working on the drama before scheduling it," Yashiro told her, shooting a glance at Ren and making it known to his charge that he thought Ren should tell Kyoko.

Ren didn't take his eyes off the road as he pulled over, though he could feel Yashiro's stare still on him.

"Yukihito-san. You're home," Ren said evenly, glad that the timing had been so perfect. Yashiro couldn't possibly do anything more now.

"Ah. So I am. Thank you Ren. I'll see you tomorrow," Yashiro said as he got out of the car. "And goodbye to you as well, Kyoko-san. You can move up front now if you'd like. Keep Ren company on the way to your place."

"Oh no! I'm fine back here. Really," Kyoko answered quickly. Not that she minded sitting next to Ren, but she didn't want to be even more of a bother than she had already been, what with them having to fit her bike in the car and Ren going out of his way to take her home.

"Kyoko-san," Yashiro whispered to her conspiratorially so that Ren couldn't hear, "it's a little impolite to leave Ren all alone in the front."

Kyoko looked at Yashiro with big, questioning eyes. Yashiro nodded once and then walked away from the car smiling smugly. Kyoko spent about a second longer deciding what she would do, before she quickly hopped into the passenger seat and smiled shyly at a surprised Ren.

"So what are you going to have for dinner?" Kyoko asked in a way of making conversation when Ren pulled back onto the road.

But Ren paused too long.

"You weren't planning on having anything for dinner!" Kyoko accused angrily, glaring at Ren. If one thing could get her worked up, it was Ren's awful eating habits.

Ren grinned sheepishly after seeing Kyoko's angry face. "Then how about I take you to dinner and then you can make sure I eat," Ren told her trying to placate her and spend more time with her at the same time.

Kyoko was stunned into silence for a second by the invitation, but then she sighed heavily as if what she was being asked to do was the biggest chore in the world - and sort of was seeing as how determined Ren seemed to be to skip meals when not pressured. "You really need to eat better, Tsuruga-san. It's so unhealthy. You'll get sick again."

Ren flashed her a brilliant smile that put her in a daze and stunned her little grudges. "I know," was all he told her, glad that it had been so easy to convince her to have dinner with him. It wasn't a date, but it was still time spent together.

So, Ren drove them to a restaurant where they served eggs over steak, and he even let Kyoko order for him when she accused him of ordering things that were not in the least nutritional. She chattered happily about her week and how she had gotten to spend time with both Chiori and Kanae together, and Ren listened to every word, taking it all in and remembering her facial expressions. Finally though, he knew he had tell her that he was going to be in the drama too - or else when she did find out...well it couldn't be good.

"Mogami-san," Ren began, trying to get Kyoko's attention. Kyoko turned her eyes from her now empty plate to look at Ren. Only when Ren knew she was listening did he continue, "About the drama that you're going to be in..._Mob Daughter_?"

But Kyoko interrupted him before he could tell her what he wanted.

"Oh yeah! I was meaning to ask you what you thought of my character. I mean, she's not done yet, but I think I have something good to work with. What do you think?" Kyoko talked quickly, preparing herself for what she was sure was going to be an unfavorable, though probably helpful, response.

Ren just stared at Kyoko, who had turned her eyes downward again and looked as if she was bracing herself for his answer - her hands were, after all, gripping the table. "It was good, Mogami-san. A great start. It really felt like you were someone else, and I think you nailed how Saki would act at school with her friends."

"Really?" Kyoko asked dumbfounded by the praise. She was so startled that she looked up and was greeted by an earnest look on Ren's face. This look sent her thoughts racing in quick succession, but somehow one coherent idea managed to pop out of the queue and to her attention. "Wait! How do you know how Saki would act?"

"Oh, well," Ren mumbled while he quickly decided what he would say, realizing this was the perfect opening for his bit of information, "the truth is that-"

"The truth is that you're just trying to make me feel good," Kyoko interrupted, "it's okay though, Tsuruga-san, you don't have to lie for my sake-"

"Mogami-san," it was Ren's turn to interrupt, "what I was actually going to say was that I accepted a role in the same drama, so I've seen the script and know a little bit about Saki's character. I'll be Yahiko, the police chief's son."

It took Kyoko a second to process what Ren had said. "You're in _Mob Daughter_?" was the eloquent reply she managed to come up with.

Ren was trying to read the look on her face but he couldn't figure it out. Maybe that was because Kyoko wasn't sure exactly what she was feeling. She was both excited that she got to work with Ren again and watch him act, but also scared - because she had to interact quite a bit with his character. She might even have to fall in love with the police chief's son. When Kyoko's facial expression didn't change after a few seconds, Ren answered her question.

"Isn't that what I said, Mogami-san?" Ren tried to make light of it all, hoping that his announcement hadn't upset Kyoko in any way.

"Oh. Okay then," she finally managed to murmur. Then she realized that she was being very rude. Ren was her sempai. He had just payed for her dinner. He always helped her out. And she should feel honored that she got to be in another production with him, that she got to watch him bring to life another character, that she got to co-star with him. And suddenly she gained the enthusiasm that she should have had right away in her voice and countenance, and she gave herself a mental kick for being dumb. Then she looked back at Ren and said in all honesty, "I'm so happy that I get to work with you again Tsuruga-san! I won't disappoint you!"

And then, before Ren could fit in a word edgewise, she continued, "And did you really mean that about Saki? I'm so happy that someone as good as you thinks she's off to a good start. It really means a lot to me that you believe in my character."

"I believe in your character, Mogami-san, but I also believe in your ability to develop her and bring her to life. I am honored to work with you on this, and I know you'll be great," Ren praised her.

Well of course Kyoko blushed furiously, insisting that Ren was giving her too much credit. "I'm still just a newbie to the business!" she protested. This was followed by her insisting that he was being too nice to her.

Ren just listened to her protests, telling her she was better than she gave herself credit for in the brief intervals when she stopped to breathe, as they walked back to his car. Him and Kyoko climbed in, and while they drove, Kyoko finally stopped her protesting so that she could ask Ren about his opinion on how she should act out Saki.

"What do you mean? I think you definitely have the right idea. You just need to see some more of the story, and to meet and interact with the rest of the cast to give her some more dimensions," Ren told her confused. Her Saki was already quite good given that she had so little information to construct her from and such a narrow environment to test her in.

"The thing is, what you saw today, that's the easy part of her character - the part I can understand. But Saki has to love her family...and a man. I can probably manage the familial love once I meet the other actors and actually try it, but to love a guy...I just don't know if I can do it. I mean, I know it's supposed to be Saki who's in love, not me, but I can't love! So how can I express my character's love?" she confided in Ren. She had told Kanae the same thing because she was her best friend. She told Ren because he was her sempai and she trusted him, especially since he had helped her so much in the past.

"Well," Ren began, "you don't have to worry about your character falling in love for a while yet, right?" Kyoko bobbed her head in a signal for "yes", just as she had done when Kanae had asked her the same question. "The more you act your character, the more she'll become whole, and maybe, through the rest of her actions, you'll discover the way she would express her love for her important people. You have time. Just believe in yourself and try your best. You've overcome everything that's been thrown at you so far, right?"

Kyoko was shocked by the last thing Ren had said. She realized suddenly that she really had overcome all of the obstacles that had come her way since the whole thing with Sho had happened.

The time when her idea was stolen for the Kyurara commercial. When she had to get over her anger for Sho when she had participated in his music video. When she had to find her own Mio. When she had to find Natsu and show the director of _Box "R" _that her Natsu was who he wanted - not some Mio copycat. She had overcome all of those instances and still more. Ren believed in her. Kanae believed in her. Sawara believed in her. Maria believed in her. Lory believed in her. The couple at the Daruma-ya believed in her. _'And,' _she realized, _'maybe it's time I start believing in myself.'_

"Right," Kyoko answered Ren. It was a confident answer. She really felt like she had already overcome so much to get to where she was. She could do this. She would do this. She'd figure out how to express love.

* * *

They were minutes away from the Daruma-ya when Kyoko's phone rang. Ren watched out of the corner of his eye as Kyoko dug rapidly through her backpack to pull out the buzzing cell. She checked the caller id and saw that the number was unlisted. Someone from the office then.

"Hello?" she answered curiously.

"Ah. Kyoko-chan," Sawara's voice said on the other end.

"Sawara-san," Kyoko greeted him before asking, "Why are you calling?"

"Director Shingai phoned our offices today and asked us to let you know that your motorcycle lessons start the day after tomorrow, and that there will be a cast meeting in four days time. I had the package of information delivered to your home," Sawara explained.

"Oh. Thank you, Sawara-san!" Kyoko babbled into the phone.

"Don't mention it. I'll speak to you tomorrow about it all in person. Make sure that you try to organize your schedule around the motorcycle lessons and the cast meeting tonight though. The lessons are flexible, but the cast meeting is when it is," Sawara told her.

"Of course!" Kyoko eagerly answered before saying goodbye to her manager and hanging up.

"What was that all about?" Ren asked Kyoko having missed the bulk of the short conversation, which had been held on Sawara's end.

"Oh. It's just some stuff for _Mob Daughter_," she told him. "Sawara-san was just telling me all of the information that he had received from the director today, like that I have my lessons the day after tomorrow. Oh, and that we have a cast meeting in four days."

"Your lessons?" Ren couldn't help but be curious.

"Yeah. For learning to ride a motorcycle. It's going to be so much fun!" Kyoko told Ren excitedly.

Ren couldn't hold in his automatic reaction. He groaned. Luckily Kyoko wasn't paying him much attention as she had drifted off into her fantasy world, imagining what it would be like to ride a motorcycle. Ren just had a bad feeling in the bottom of his gut that the petite Kyoko and a motorcycle could not be a good combination.

Just look at how dangerous she was on a regular bike.

* * *

**Authoress' Notes: Yes she's learning to ride a motorcycle. Why? Because I realized she's not old enough to drive a car in Japan. My initial plan was for her to drive a nice, sleek car in a few scenes in the drama and of course in my story, but since she's not old enough **_**and**_** her character's not old enough, well that doesn't really work. She and her character **_**are**_** however old enough to ride a motorcycle. Mob daughter's got money, but her daddy's not the type to spring for a driver. With three older brothers...I can totally see Saki riding a motorcycle to have her independence (and maybe a little under her bros' influence). As for Kyoko...we'll see. Oh...and please review! It helps me and motivates me!  
**


	3. Chapter 3: Mastering the Beast

**Disclaimer: Skip Beat! is not my creation. If it was, I would be pleasing all of you by working on the new chapter instead of this.**

**Authoress' Notes: Yay! A new chapter! Are you all as excited as I am? I hope so...it's been too long. **

**So I've been thinking that I need to introduce some more conflict soon. So far it's all been setup for the events of the future...but I'm getting bored writing it so I'm sure it's not that exciting to read. Let's see how this one turns out.**

**Sorry it took so much time to get this out by the way. Nakamura Fan mentioned how the drama plot made them think of one of Nakamura's other works, Tokyo Crazy Paradise...so of course I got distracted and had to read that. It only took two days of doing nothing else (I didn't have classes which helped A LOT), but those two days made me incredibly tired - because I would stay up until four reading and then wake up at eight. My fault. I know. But also Nakamura's for being such an entertaining writer!!! And then I discovered Ouran High School Host Club by accident...and there went another two days.**

**Oh and told me to please not put Kyoko in a motorcycle accident - I think I know what story you're talking about, and I've read it as well (and it's excellent!), and that was never my intention! The motorcycle came in because I wanted her to have something other than a bicycle to ride occasionally and she's not old enough to drive a car in Japan yet. She's still seventeen in my story. **

**Anyways, this note is not what you came here for. We're live with Kyoko's Fairytale in 3...2...1...ACTION!**

* * *

"Slow down, Kyoko!"

Kyoko's instructor didn't have the time to waste on the use of formalities while addressing her. Amazingly, she had turned out to be quite a natural on the motorcycle. Her balance, after some initial problems, was exceptional. She had learned easily enough how to use the throttle, the handbrake, the clutch, the left foot gear shift, and the right foot brake after a few falls literally hammered the lessons into her mind. After only three hours, she could ride around the track they were practicing on without any problems. And she was also capable of scaring the poor instructor, Aki.

"Kyoko, you only started today. It's not safe to go so quickly!" he yelled again, hoping that this time she might actually heed his warnings. Aki was afraid that she was going to wipe out...and it was his head that Shingai would come after if Kyoko got scraped up. Sure, she was wearing an excessive amount of padding and protective clothing - not a speck of her skin was exposed - but if she skidded or crashed going at that velocity...

Kyoko, who had been having an absolutely amazing time driving around since she had stopped falling all the time and gotten used to the controls and the feel of the motorcycle, finally heard the instructor as she passed by him on her way around the track, and she slowed down accordingly. For Kyoko, riding around brought a feeling of complete freedom. It was so exhilarating...almost like flying. And unlike when she rode her bike, she didn't have to do any real leg work - it was a nice change.

As she coasted around the track, going now at a much more reasonable speed, she reflected on how very bad she had been a few short hours ago when her lesson had just begun.

'_So, Kyoko-san,' Aki had said, 'to begin, I just want you to climb onto the bike and get a feel for it. This motorcycle is a lot heavier than the bike you ride and the seat's a lot bigger and more comfortable, so it's going to be different than anything you're used to.'_

_In her eagerness to master this new skill and be ready for filming, Kyoko had immediately thrown her leg over the seat, straddling the machine, while Aki held the handlebars to keep the motorcycle steady._

'_Good,' Aki continued, when Kyoko was standing over the bike's seat. 'Now sit down and get comfortable on the seat. See how it feels when I tilt the bike a little to one side? Now I want you to support the bike on your own and feel how heavy it is. So I need you to first place your feet back on the ground. Good. Now take the handles. And now I'm going to let go.'_

_Well, as soon as he let go, the motorcycle promptly fell over._

_Kyoko fell with it. _

_She groaned while the instructor laughed and pulled the bike off of her. 'Let's try this again,' he told her._

And she had. The second time, she was expecting the motorcycle's weight and she didn't let it fall on her. She got used to it, even going so far as to sit down on the seat with one foot propped out to keep the bike from tipping. Then she had a lesson on all of the bike's controls and what she needed to do to make the motorcycle go. Once Aki was sure that Kyoko had understood that much, he had let her start the engine and practice driving slowly in first gear, getting used to the idea of the clutch and the feeling of motion. He didn't let her touch the throttle.

She had lost control, abruptly stopped, fallen over by going too slowly or leaning too much into a turn, and done who knows what else numerous times before finally getting it. As soon as she had been allowed to try using the throttle and shifting gears, it seemed as if she was possessed by something. It was suddenly much easier for her. She was off, circling the track at a rapid pace. And once she was going, nothing could stop her.

"Kyoko-san!" Aki called again as Kyoko came nearer to where he stood watching her drive, a proud look on his face for his impressive student. "Slow down and brake. It's time for you to go."

Kyoko gently eased down on the handbrake to slow her progress. She came to a stop right by the instructor.

And then the bike fell over on her again.

"You need to remember to put your foot down until you can engage the kick stand, Kyoko-san," Aki laughed while he helped her up, "I thought we went over this already the last time you fell...and the time before that...and the time before that!"

Kyoko blushed furiously while making another mental note of that particular bit of information. "Got it," she told Aki, pulling off her helmet and mussing up her hair a bit with her hand - it had become plastered to her head during the long hours she had been wearing the protective headgear.

"I don't usually like to teach people so much at once and in such a quick time period, but seeing as how you start filming in a week and a half, it was a necessity. You surprised me though. You did extremely well for your first lesson. You should be proud of yourself," Aki praised Kyoko as she stripped off the elbow pads and knee pads she had been forced to wear on top of a protective jacket and pants.

"It's all thanks to your excellent teaching," Kyoko told him as she unlaced first one, and then the other boot she had been given. Her own shoes were lying behind the instructor, next to her bicycle and bag. She had to go film some Bo scenes for _Kimagure Rock _after this. "So when can we have another lesson? I need to be able to do this and not fall when I come to a stop...or when I get on the bike...or when I try to get going," Kyoko listed all the instances where she was wobbly on the motorcycle. As soon as she got moving, she was fine. Starting and stopping - well that she still hadn't perfected - and she imagined that was probably what they needed her to learn most for the movie scenes.

"Can you make it in again tomorrow?"

Kyoko nodded her head. "Of course!" she exclaimed. She was going to give this her all even if that meant coming for lessons in every moment of her spare time.

* * *

Kyoko felt a fizzy, warm feeling starting in her body. She was just so happy, it was radiating from her very core.

Kanae, who was caught in Kyoko's embrace didn't feel _exactly_ the same thing. Not that she wasn't happy to see Kyoko...after all, she was the one who had come down to the studio for a visit...but she could have done without the hug - Kyoko was strangling her! Finally, she managed to unwrap Kyoko's arms from around her neck.

"It's good to see you too, Kyoko," Kanae finally said after she had taken a moment to catch her breath.

Kyoko was still floating on her bubbles of happiness. Kanae had gone out of her way to visit her on set. She really was her best friend! Kyoko was done filming for the day and was already changed out of her chicken costume and ready to go so she grabbed Kanae's hand and started towing her out of the building, talking rapidly in her excitement: "Come on, Moko-san! Let's go get ice cream! And then let's go shopping. I need a new dress!"

"Mo! I'm coming! But would you drop the "san" already?" Kanae answered, finally fed up with the contrasting casual and formal tones of her nickname and the honorific. On the point of the ice cream though, she had no complaints. As much as she hated the calories that were in ice cream, she had sought Kyoko out in just the hopes that the two of them could spend some time together. It had been a long time since just the two of them had hung out. Even when doing Love Me work, they weren't often in the office at the same time, and when they were, Chiori was usually there too.

Kyoko stopped walking and turned around to face Kanae. "Huh? What did you say, Moko-san?" she asked, tilting her head to the side and looking at Kanae confusedly.

Kanae groaned. "That! Kyoko, if you're going to call me Moko, at least drop the "san". I thought we were supposed to be best friends," she explained.

Kyoko's eyes widened. "We are best friends Moko-s-...I mean, Moko! I just thought you wouldn't want me to address you so familiarly."

"Mo! If you're my best friend, then it's almost like a rule that we have to address each other familiarly. We're supposed to be close," Kanae continued. Why was she fighting so hard for one little thing.

'_It's because that would put me ahead of Ren,'_ the unbidden thought drifted into her head.

Kanae knew it was irrational and stupid to be jealous of Ren. But he had met Kyoko before she had. He had known her birthday. He got to spend so much time with Kyoko on set. _'That should be me! I'm Kyoko's best friend!' _she thought fiercely. It was a role that she had rejected when Kyoko had first put her in it, but it was one she guarded carefully now. Ren was not going to take it away from her.

"Okay, Moko!" Kyoko uttered happily after her friend's explanation. Kanae had just openly admitted to being her best friend - something she rarely did. She threw her arms around Kanae in another hug, this time less suffocating, and then started skipping out of the studio, Kanae following behind her with a small smile on her face.

On their way out the door, Kyoko saw the Ishibashi boys and stopped to say goodbye to them.

"Goodbye, Kyoko-chan!" they chimed back in unison.

Then Hikaru added, "Uh, Kyoko-chan... I was wondering if maybe you were free for dinner tonight."

"Sorry. I already have plans with my best friend!" Kyoko exclaimed dragging Kanae close to her to show her off. "Maybe I can join you guys next time."

And then her and Kanae were finally outside. But unlike Kyoko, who hadn't heard the other boys consoling Hikaru, who was sulking because she had turned him down again, Kanae heard every word.

"Does that guy ask you out to eat with him a lot?" Kanae asked Kyoko while they strolled towards their favorite ice cream shop.

"Oh yeah. The onii-sans are always like that, inviting me out with them. It's sweet. But I'm always so busy that I never have time to join them," Kyoko explained to Kanae.

Kanae just looked at Kyoko dumbfounded. She couldn't believe that Kyoko didn't realize that the poor guy was asking her out._ 'He never even mentioned the other guys coming and she just assumes that they are,_' Kanae marveled.

"Did you ever think that he might like you?" Kanae asked after a second of pondering Kyoko's answer.

"Don't be silly, Kanae!" Kyoko scolded her. Then she towed Kanae into the ice cream shop, completely forgetting their conversation.

However it was something that Kanae stored for later evaluation.

* * *

"What about this one, Moko?" Kyoko asked while she spun around in a circle, the dress' skirt billowing around her. "Does this one make me look like a princess?" she continued excitedly.

Kanae sighed. "No, Kyoko. Now take it off and let's go to another store."

"Aww, Moko," Kyoko whined. But she took off the dress and dutifully followed Kanae out of the shop. They had already been to five, and Kanae hadn't approved of a single dress yet. It's not like Kyoko was shopping for a ball gown or anything, just something that she could wear out during the day, but Kanae was adamant that if she was just getting the one dress it had to be the perfect one.

The two girls walked through the streets, Kyoko telling Kanae about her motorcycle lesson and Kanae narrating her adventures from the set of another tv drama where she had landed a role. Both of them were happy in their own little world, and so both of them almost missed the dress in the window. Luckily, a runaway giant of a dog knocked them over, and their attention was diverted from one another.

While Kanae stood up and yelled angrily after the kid who ran by them chasing after the dog. Kyoko looked up and her eyes landed on the store's front display.

"Oh! Moko! What about this one?" Kyoko asked her friend, pointing to the dress in the window.

Kanae considered the dress, looked up at the name of the store, and then nodded her head in the affirmative. "Okay, go in and try it on," she approved.

Kyoko hopped up and dashed madly for the store's interior where she hounded a sales lady to get the dress for her in her size. It took some time because they had to strip the dress off the mannequin in the window, which was the very last one in the store - and luckily Kyoko's size. When the dress was in Kyoko's hands, she ran to the change room where she slipped into it rapidly, stepping out to show Kanae in mere seconds.

Kanae's mouth actually dropped open in surprise. The dress was perfect. Kyoko could wear it out anywhere without looking too dressed up, but it would also be suitable for a date at a fancy restaurant. _'Not that Kyoko will be going on any dates anytime soon if today was any indication,' _Kanae thought.

"So what about this one, Moko?" Kyoko asked.

"That's the one," Kanae told her. The reason she had checked the store's name before approving Kyoko's wish to try the dress on was to make sure that Kyoko wouldn't be heartbroken by the price.

Kyoko kept twirling around in the dress, checking herself out in the mirror. The dress was dove grey with thick straps. A black ribbon, finishing in a centered bow on the front, was tied around at the empire waist. The dress billowed from there, looking adorable on Kyoko's petite body, and ended just above her knees. It was so simple, but that's what made it so perfect. Kyoko could dress it up or down. And she looked good in it.

Kyoko thought happily about the dress while she changed considerably more slowly out of it. It was exactly what she was looking for. Her last dress had unfortunately fallen apart the last time she had washed it, and it was not worth the effort to sew it back together. She would be able to wear this anytime she needed to dress up a little, or just when she felt like looking a little nicer. The best part was that the price was right. She couldn't afford to buy a lot of clothes...or expensive clothes. But this dress fit right into her budget.

She exited the change room and payed for the dress, Kanae following her. Then the two girls headed over to the Daruma-ya for dinner.

* * *

Kyoko arrived for the cast meeting forty minutes early because she hadn't wanted to be late. She was nervous enough as it was and had thought that arriving early would put some of those nerves at ease. Instead, it had the opposite effect, giving her enough time to entirely psyche herself out. So she sat in the conference room, bouncing in her chair, having beaten even the director in arriving, telling herself over and over again that it was all going to be alright.

"Ah, Kyoko-san."

The voice interrupted her internal self-assuring, and Kyoko looked up to see the drama's director, Shingai Seiji, standing in the doorway.

Kyoko stood up and offered a little bow while she greeted him back. "Hello director Shingai-san! I am so happy to be working with you on this. I promise that I will do my very best."

Shingai laughed. "I'm glad to hear that. Now please, sit down Kyoko-san."

Kyoko took her seat and looked at the director, who was taking a seat at the head of the table.

"I didn't think that anyone would be here before me," Shingai remarked when he had settled himself into his chair and spread all of his papers on the table in front of him.

"I was so scared about being late that I left home really, really early," Kyoko explained sheepishly, turning red.

"That's not something to be embarrassed about," Shingai replied, "it shows that you're serious about your job, and it leaves a good impression when you're early."

Kyoko didn't say anything, and after a minute Shingai picked up the conversation.

"You've come really far since I last saw you, Kyoko-san," he began. "The commercial, the music video, two roles in dramas - and all in the last year."

"I've had some luck," Kyoko murmured looking down. It's not that she didn't appreciate the compliment he was giving her, telling her that she had "come far", but she was unused to receiving such praise from people whom she hardly knew.

"You have to have a little bit of luck to get started in this business. Your talent is what keeps you in though," Shingai remarked.

Kyoko was spared from answering, because at that moment there was a knock on the door, and a whole group of people came in, including Ren, who took the seat beside her's. Kyoko gave him a polite nod and muttered a "hello" before turning her eyes on some of the other cast members - one whose face she recognized.

"Hello, Kijima-san," Kyoko greeted an actor who had a short role in _Dark Moon_.

Kijima Hidehito gave her a smile and returned her greeting.

The rest of their names were unknown to Kyoko, though she knew that they must have strong actors for director Shingai Seiji to want them for his drama. The man was a perfectionist. A quiet stream of chatter came from the actors in the room while they waited for the clock to strike noon - the time when they were supposed to officially begin. After making a cursory study of everyone, Kyoko turned her full attention back to Ren.

"Is it unprofessional to be nervous, Tsuruga-san?" she asked him, blowing a strand of hair out of her face, a little exasperated with her own fretting mentality.

Ren wanted to reach out and tuck the loose hair behind her ear. Instead he answered her question: "Not at all, Mogami-san. Everyone gets nervous. It's normal. But you can relax. Today we're just going to meet everyone and learn what roles they're playing. Maybe we'll read through a little bit of the script. This is only to help us."

"Okay," Kyoko said, not entirely convinced that she could relax. Her mind however was easily distracted from her nerves, which it had not been for the entire time that she had been sitting in this room, when she thought of one of her usual questions for Ren. "So, what did you have for lunch, Tsuruga-san?" She didn't even try to make the transition to the question, or the question itself for that matter, more subtle. It was a standard point that came up in many of her conversations with Ren.

Ren had the decency to look properly ashamed when he told her, "Umm, nothing. I had to come here straight from another job if I wanted to be on time."

"Tsuruga-san!" Kyoko complained, getting uninhibited with her words like she usually did when Ren's eating habits, or health in general, were the subject. "You're not taking care of yourself! And Yashiro-san's not helping either. I'll have to give him another talking to after this before you two leave. You know that I respect you very much and that I recognize that you know a lot more than I do about a lot of things, but when it comes to your health...well...you're clueless."

Kyoko heard a giggle and turned away from Ren to look at the source. A woman, who looked like she had just entered her forties, sat across from her, and she held her hand over her mouth as if she was hiding the evidence of her lapse in composure.

"Sorry," she told Kyoko, "I couldn't help but overhear. It's nice to see Ren-san scolded like a normal person."

"Oh," was all Kyoko could manage to say in response to the surprising statement.

"Yes. I've worked with him before and he was just too perfect. Always getting his takes right, showing up on time, getting ready so quickly...he put us veterans to shame! Oh my. I should have introduced myself right away. I'm Abe Hiromi and I'll be playing the mother," Hiromi told Kyoko.

"I'm Kyoko," Kyoko told Hiromi, giving the woman her stage name, "and I'll be playing Saki."

"So you're the newbie who Seiji-san was so impressed with!" the woman exclaimed. "Ah that's right! You're Mio in_ Dark Moon_. You're very good."

Kyoko turned red.

"Oh, don't waste your breath praising her, Hiromi-san. She never thinks that she deserves it. She'd rather you chew her out and tell her that she's horrible," Ren told Hiromi playfully. She was a very warm, kind, likeable type of woman who elicited those types of responses.

"You watch your tongue. I already like her a lot better than I like you. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders and she's not cheeky," Hiromi told Ren.

Kyoko was surprised by the whole exchange. Ren was always very polite and kind to his co-stars. He always smiled with them and complimented them. She had never seen him react quite this way. But it seemed very hard to respond to this Hiromi in any way other than a light tone. Her very personality drew such a response from you.

Kyoko heard hands clapping and realized it was the director getting their attention. It was twelve, and it was time to begin.

"To start, I'd like you all to state your name and your character so that everyone knows who's playing who. We're all going to be working together for a while and we're all going to have to interact - whether it's running lines, on set, or even just me telling you what to do - so we should all get to know one another, at least by name. I am aware that some of you may be acquainted with one another, but other's are not, so let's begin. I'm Shingai Seiji and I'll be your director."

Kyoko learned that Kijima Hidehito would be playing one of her brothers, as would two other young men who were very popular in the drama circuit. Her father was to be played by Arai Kazuki, a popular movie star who was taking a break from films. He looked intimidating, and Kyoko was frightened of him at first, that is until she learned he had as good a humor as Hiromi.

The rival mob boss was to be played by a Hayashi Ryo, who Kyoko remembered, from when she had time to watch television interviews and variety shows, having been a singer who had discovered a passion, and a real talent, for acting. The chief of police would be played by Mori Fumio, who Kyoko finally recognized from the set of _Ring Doh_. The guy who was to play the rival to Ren's Yahiko for her attention was a Japanese actor who had worked in America for a few years with roles in a couple of movies before deciding to return to his roots. This would be his first Japanese work, but he was already well known for all of his American films. His name was Yoshida Daisuke.

Kyoko couldn't help but be intimidated a little by the cast. She wasn't a complete novice anymore, but she wasn't nearly as famous as everyone else. It was comforting that they all seemed to be kind. While they read through a few scenes of the first episode, no one got angry or frustrated when someone missed a cue or screwed up their words. As Ren had told her, it was a very relaxed atmosphere.

"Well done," Shingai complimented them when the read through was complete. "Now there's one more thing I'd like to discuss with you. We want to do some promotional work for the drama, so the day before we start filming we want to do a photo shoot. Then we'll have some posters made up. Does that work for everyone?"

Kyoko bobbed her head along with everyone else. That was supposed to have been her day off, but that just meant that she had the time. She wouldn't have done much regardless. And this way she didn't have to rearrange her schedule again.

"I'll pass the location and exact time to you when we've confirmed. I guess that's all."

Everyone immediately began packing up. Kyoko moved the fastest so that she would be ready to follow Ren out and ambush Yashiro about Ren's lunch. But when Ren started walking out and she made her move to follow him, she was called by Shingai.

"Kyoko-san? Could you just stay here for a minute. I wanted to know how your motorcycle lessons were coming along," he told her while everyone left. The only one who was still in the room was Daisuke.

"Really well. I'm having quite a bit of fun too," Kyoko answered honestly. The bike didn't fall over anymore, and Aki was confident enough in her abilities to let her go faster without much complaint. She was enjoying herself thoroughly, and she was sure that she was well prepared for the scenes where she actually had to be seen driving the machine she had been a stranger to until a few short days ago.

"I'm glad to hear that. I've also heard that you have another lesson today. I was hoping that maybe you wouldn't mind sharing your teacher," Shingai said before his eyes flicked quickly to Daisuke and then back to Kyoko. "Daisuke-san needs a quick refresher course. He has to ride a motorcycle in the drama as well, and though he's already learned, the last time he rode one was a year or so ago."

"Oh. I don't mind at all!" Kyoko exclaimed. She would do whatever she needed to do to insure the success of the drama, and sharing her time with the instructor was really not that big a deal - especially since she was now riding around the track without bringing any severe damage to herself or to the motorcycle. The drama was paying for these lessons anyway, so it was very considerate of the director to ask her approval - but she couldn't really say no.

"That's perfect," Shingai approved. "I already talked to Aki-san earlier and he says that you can both go to the track right now. We have a car that can take you both-"

"It's alright, Shingai-san," Daisuke interrupted, "I can take Kyoko-san with me in my vehicle. It's not a problem."

"Very good then. I guess that's all. I'll see you both at the photo shoot," director Shingai said while he packed up his papers and let the two young actors leave.

When Kyoko entered the hallway, she almost crashed right into Ren, who had been waiting for her.

"Mogami-san, I was wondering if maybe you needed a ride anywhere. Since the meeting went so smoothly, I have some time before I need to get to my next job," he explained to her, hoping she would accept.

Yashiro popped out from behind his charge and waved to Kyoko. "Hey, Kyoko-san."

Kyoko smiled at him before remembering that she was supposed to be scolding him for not making Ren eat. Her smile melted into a glare. "Yashiro-san, why did Tsuruga-san inform me that he hasn't had lunch yet?"

Yashiro grinned sheepishly. "Because he's going to have some right now?" he guessed at the answer he was supposed to give.

"That's correct," Kyoko said satisfied. Daisuke had joined her in the hallway during the brief exchange. She glanced at him and knew that she should get going. It was impolite to keep him waiting for her.

"Won't you join us for lunch, Kyoko-san?" Yashiro asked. "Then Ren can drive you home after."

"I'm sorry. I can't," Kyoko told him, glancing again at Daisuke, "Yoshida-san will be joining me at my lessons this afternoon and we need to get going." She turned her attention to Daisuke now, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Let's go."

Daisuke headed past Ren, and Kyoko followed, stopping to call over her shoulder, "Make sure he eats, Yashiro-san!"

"What was that?" Yashiro asked Ren.

"I guess he's also attending her motorcycle lessons today," Ren proposed calmly reasoning out the answer.

Inside though, he was protesting the unfairness. How come a guy who barely knew Kyoko got to spend time with her while he, who had worked hard to know her so well, was left without her company?

* * *

Kyoko was silent while she sat in Daisuke's car.

The two of them had gotten stuck in a little bit of traffic and so their progress had been slowed. That meant that she was going to have to endure the awkward atmosphere in the vehicle even longer. She just didn't know what she could talk to him about or ask him, so she remained silent. He was a stranger, and the only reason she was sitting here right now was because he had very politely offered the needed ride and it would have been silly to refuse.

He wasn't making conversation either.

Cars honked at other cars and Kyoko wanted to hit her head against the window.

She had to say something. Even if all she did was ask him if she could turn the radio on. The silence was so loud! It was the only thing she could notice. She made up her mind to ask about some music.

"Would you mind if I turned the radio on?"

They both looked at each other. They had voiced the exact same question at the exact same time. Kyoko really couldn't help it. She blushed and smiled. Daisuke laughed.

"I've been working up to that for the last ten minutes or so," he told her.

"Same here," she replied looking down at her hands folded in her lap.

"You can pick a radio station. I'm sorry that I'm not much of a conversationalist," he said.

Kyoko shook her head. "It's your car. You should pick what we listen to."

Neither of them said anything for a few seconds or made a move for the radio, and then they both reached for the dial at the same time.

"Ah, go ahead," Kyoko urged the man who was driving her around.

"No, really, I leave it to you," Daisuke replied sincerely.

"Can I ask you a question instead?" Kyoko asked before she knew what she was saying. It's true that a few questions about this new person were floating around her head. She was a little curious about this guy she knew nothing about. Who wouldn't be?

"Of course," the man told her.

"Umm, well, I was wondering what kind of role you had played before that you needed to learn to ride a motorcycle for," she said. Since her mouth had gone and decided for her that it wanted to ask some questions now, her mind had decided that was the safest one to ask. It wasn't a personal question. All she was asking for was some information that she could probably find online if she wanted to.

"It wasn't for a movie, actually," Daisuke answered, "I started learning while I lived in America because I thought it looked like fun. In the last year however, I've been busy with my final roles in American films and moving back here, so I didn't have any time to practice."

"Oh."

"Can I ask you a question now?" he inquired.

"I guess that's fair," she replied. They had started moving again and would be at the track in a few short minutes.

"Do you know Tsuruga Ren well?"

"I guess so. I mean, he is my sempai, and he's helped me out a lot since I started acting. I trust him very much. Why?" Kyoko answered with her own question.

"Oh. No reason. You two just looked friendly and I wondered if you had worked together before this drama," Daisuke explained. It was the truth, but only a part of it. He had been fishing. Now he knew that the two weren't dating.

"We have actually worked together," Kyoko told him. "You might have heard of the remake of _Tsukigomori_, _Dark Moon_? Ren was Katsuki, and I played Mio. We didn't have any scenes with just the two of us, but I did have the opportunity to act opposite him a little."

"That's cool."

Kyoko let out a happy little sigh. Awkward silences bugged her. She was glad that the quiet had evaporated and that she had finally found herself able to talk to Daisuke. And all it had taken was one funny little moment.

"We're here," Daisuke announced as he pulled into a parking space at the track.

"I'm very grateful for the ride. Thank you," she told him as she climbed out.

Kyoko waited for him to get out and lock up the car before she lead him over to where the instructor, Aki, was standing watching someone go around the track very slowly on a giant motorcycle. Kyoko called his name to get his attention.

"Aki-san!" she yelled.

The man turned his eyes away from the person going around the track and let them focus on the girl calling his name, who was perhaps his favorite student in his long career of teaching others to ride motorcycles.

"Ah, Kyoko-san. And this must be Yoshida-san," he said, his eyes moving from Kyoko to the blond, tall man walking with her.

"Daisuke is just fine," Daisuke told Aki while the two men shook hands.

Kyoko, who had tuned the men out, was watching the person who was driving around the track. Their every action was stiff and unsure, and they looked like they were incredibly uncomfortable on the giant motorcycle's cushy seat. And they were going so slowly! Kyoko was a speed demon, unsurprising when one considered how absolutely rapidly she rode her bike.

"Yes, he's just finishing up. He's been a client of mine for a month now. It seems he thinks that riding a motorcycle will boost his "cool" image," Kyoko heard Aki tell Daisuke as she tuned into their conversation, presumably about the rider that was coming to a stop near them.

When the rider hit the brakes, Kyoko could just tell that he wasn't going to put his foot down or engage the kick stand when he stopped. He wasn't readying himself to do either. She laughed internally when she envisioned what would happen next.

'_And down he goes,' _she thought, right before the giant motorcycle tipped over, the rider falling off of it. She stifled her giggle. That had been her a few short days ago. Only with intense, continuous hours of practice, a good memory, and sheer determination - plus the fact that according to Aki she was a natural - she could now avoid a similar fate.

She turned away from the rider, while he struggled to get up, to give him his privacy. She knew how she would've felt if a bunch of strangers had watched her struggle to learn to ride. She threw her gaze around the lot. That was when she saw the familiar blonde head.

"It can't be," she muttered to herself under her breath. If it was, that meant that the universe was really conspiring against her.

"Shoko-san?" she called out tentatively, praying that the woman who she was staring at wouldn't respond to the name.

The woman turned around though, and sadly it was none other than the stupid singer's manager, Aki Shoko.

"Kyoko-san!" the other woman cheerfully greeted her. Kyoko had nothing against Shoko. Kyoko had actually found her to be a kind person once she had gotten to know her a little. But if Shoko was here that meant...

She turned back to face the rider who was now standing. He took off his helmet and Kyoko wanted to scream.

"Aren't you going to say hello?"

Fuwa Sho stood in front of her.


	4. Chapter 4: The Evil Knight

**Disclaimer: Violets are blue**

** Roses are red**

** I don't own Skip Beat!**

** Or I'd work on that instead.**

**Authoress' Notes: Just to make this clear. This story is set after the events of Valentine's Day. Maybe a month later? Anyways, at first I was going to include Ren's kiss in Kyoko's mentality. But I decided instead to make it something she's worked through and mostly forgotten about. This is mostly because when I started, I wasn't sure how her character would handle it - I'm still very new to this fandom. Sho's kiss? Well she definitely hasn't fully gotten over that, but she's not spending her days thinking about it either. Really. Who would want to?**

**As to why Sho didn't get the other male lead in the drama...that's too predictable. Where's the fun in that? Plus director Shingai seems the type who would want to deal with actors...not singers who want to try their hand at acting. But remember, it **_**is**_** a tv drama. There are other roles that need to be filled - that was just the main cast. Sho might still make his tv drama debut...or not.**

**Before we go on to the story, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed (we've hit 30! =D and for just three chapters!). Each and every review makes my day because it means that someone liked my story enough to want to tell me. It's a great feeling. I also want to say that I read your suggestions and what you like and don't like about my story, and I take it all to heart. But ultimately, this is my brain child, and I have to write what I feel is right.**

**Now. Quiet on the set! Kyoko's Fairytale begins in 3...2...1...ACTION!**

* * *

"Ren, you need to eat. Kyoko-san will be very upset with me if you don't," Yashiro pleaded, giving up all dignity.

Ren was picking at his lunch. He never ate much unless Kyoko was around to scold him and voice her concerns for his health.

"She'll be upset with you too if she finds out," Yashiro continued shamelessly. He wasn't actually concerned for Ren. Ren could take care of himself where Kyoko was concerned...except when it came to expressing his true feelings for her. Yashiro, instead, was concerned for his own well-being. After all, he had seen Kyoko's anger before, and he didn't want there to be any reason for her to direct that towards him.

Mercifully, Ren started actually eating the food in front of him.

Yashiro decided he could give Ren a treat since the actor was saving his ass.

"Since we're still running rather early, why don't we go visit Kyoko at the track to assure her that you've eaten lunch. It'll make her happy to know that you took care of yourself, and it's on our way," Yashiro suggested having already gotten the location of the track from Sawara...just in case.

He watched as Ren started eating faster. The increase in the rate of food consumption would have gone unnoticed by anyone else. Yashiro was not anyone though, he was Ren's manager...and friend.

* * *

Kyoko turned away from the man standing in front of her, giving a very audible huff.

"Hello, Shoko-san. How's it going?" Kyoko asked his manager with a deceptively casual air. Her grudges were back in full force, and despite her even tone, it was impossible not to feel the aura of hatred around her.

"That's not what I meant!" Sho shouted angrily.

"Oh, now that's a mature reaction," Kyoko said sarcastically before choosing to ignore him. For once, she was very aware of the people around her. Daisuke and Aki didn't need to see her verbally attack Sho...maybe even physically attack him if she was provoked enough. Directly attacking him wouldn't accomplish anything anyways. He'd still be a famous singer after all was said and done.

But showing him up...well that would make him feel awful, all while emphasizing how much better than him she was...not to mention that it would just be fun. And she had the perfect tool for that in her hands now.

Sho started talking at her again, but she somehow managed to tune out his every word. Ren would have been proud of her.

"Aki-san," Kyoko addressed her instructor calmly, "I believe Yoshida-san and I are ready to begin if you're done with your other client."

The Kyoko in front of Aki was not the girl he had been working with for the past few days. She was hard and cold. He was used to seeing a sweet, calm, determined girl.

"Of course," he answered quickly. "Your bike's in the shed. The one Daisuke-san will be using is parked next to it."

"Thank you," she stated simply. Then she promptly dropped her bag and opened it up to pull out the boots, riding gloves, and leather jacket she had stored in there. She was already wearing jeans. She kicked off her shoes and slipped the boots onto her feet, stuck her arms into the leather jacket, and pulled the gloves on, all while pointedly ignoring Sho. She didn't need to wear the extra padding anymore.

"What are you doing here anyways?" Sho was demanding angrily now.

Kyoko just glared at him. "I'm here to ride a motorcycle you dumb ass," she snapped before turning on her heel and walking towards the shed.

Shoko was trying to calm Sho down, but she wasn't having any luck. Daisuke and Aki just watched the whole scene in stunned silence. Neither could figure out exactly what had caused the one-eighty in Kyoko's behavior, though they were intelligent enough to realize it had something to do with the fuming boy standing in front of them

Kyoko finally reached the small shed where Aki stored the bikes. She disappeared inside and came out wheeling one that was obviously too big for her. Then, she disappeared back into the small building again and came out with a sleek red helmet on her head, rolling a smaller motorcycle forwards.

Sho was finally distracted from his nonsensical ranting when he saw Kyoko throw her leg over the motorcycle's seat. The bike was a bright red like her helmet, small and fast. Sho recognized it as a Japanese model, a Kawasaki sportbike.

"She's not actually going to ride that is she?" he asked no one in particular, laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world. He couldn't imagine the demure Kyoko of his past ever riding a motorcycle. What he kept forgetting was that Kyoko was not limited by him anymore.

Kyoko heard him and revved the motorcycle's engine to show her anger.

"Oh! I can't wait to see this," Sho continued on gleefully, fully ignoring Shoko and the other two men standing with him. "She's just going to embarrass herself when she falls. Really, why's she even here?"

Aki looked at his client with something close to pity in his eyes. Not because he particularly liked Sho, but because the young singer was about to be humiliated.

"It's for her new role."

Sho looked at the man who had unexpectedly answered his question. "Excuse me?" he asked rudely.

"She's starring in a new drama. Her character needs to ride a motorcycle. From what I've heard, she's learned quickly and is pretty good," Daisuke answered, ignoring Sho's rude attitude, while looking at the track. "But you can check that out for yourself."

Sho followed Daisuke's stare and turned his own gaze to where Kyoko was already moving, and then his eyes widened to comical proportions. She was speeding around the track, taking every curve much faster than she would have if she was not so pissed off. She was the complete opposite to Sho on a motorcycle. Where he was awkward and choppy in his movements, she was relaxed and fluid. Where he looked uncomfortable, she looked like she was a mere extension of the bike instead of a separate entity. Where he moved at a snail's pace, she was a cheetah.

"Ah, Kyoko-san! Take it a little slower!" Aki called out, cautioning the angry girl.

Kyoko, realizing she was making rash decisions in her fury, went one step further than slowing down. She had proved her point, and could see Sho's wide, glazed over eyes from where she was. She brought the bike to a complete stop, right in front of her audience. She didn't forget to steady herself with her foot. The bike didn't fall over on _her_ when she climbed off.

She pulled off her helmet and stared fiercely at Sho.

"Now. What was all that you were yammering about?" she asked sharply, not breaking her pointed stare.

Sho was still shocked and couldn't retort.

"Wow, Kyoko-san," Shoko commented, "you're amazing. How long have you been practicing for?"

Kyoko tried to sound less cold when she responded to Shoko's question. "Less than a week," she answered a little too sweetly, knowing what would come next.

"Less than a week?" Sho yelled angrily. "You're lying!"

"It's true," Aki stated calmly. He wasn't sure what exactly he was in the middle of, but he felt like he needed to validate Kyoko's claim.

"There's no way a no-talent person like you could have learned to ride a motorcycle in less than a week!" Sho kept shouting.

Kyoko didn't even look at him when she answered, "You know, it's not my fault you're not any good at it!"

"What?" Sho spluttered.

"You heard me! You're not perfect! You're not good at everything! I'm actually amazed that you're good at _anything_," she continued, picking up some momentum. The longer she stood with Sho, the harder it became for her to act like she wasn't as worked up as she really was.

"This coming from the girl who- "

But Kyoko didn't hear the rest. It was that moment that another car pulled into the lot. One that grabbed Kyoko's full attention.

She instinctively took a step back from Sho and placed herself nearer Daisuke and Aki while she watched the driver's side door open. Then she waited to see what would happen.

'_He can't possibly get angry with me, right? It's not my fault that the idiot was here,' _she thought.

* * *

Ren was shocked by the scene before him.

Kyoko was standing in front of Sho, while the singer glared at her.

'_Why is he here?' _Ren demanded the heavens, cursing fate for bringing Kyoko and Sho together...again. He really was fighting against powerful forces, but there was no way that he was going to give up.

Another look at Kyoko though, and Ren was put somewhat at ease. She was looking at him as he approached. Not Sho. Him. That had to mean that Sho didn't occupy as much of her mind and heart as he had before. Right?

"Mogami-san!" Ren greeted her cheerfully when he had reached the small group of people gathered by the track with Yashiro trailing along behind him.

Trying to be helpful to Ren, Yashiro dutifully chimed in, "We just came from lunch!"

It did the trick. Kyoko's attention was pulled from Sho as she turned to give Yashiro and Ren a genuine smile. "I'm glad," she said, happy that Ren had listened to her and taken care of himself. "But how'd you get here so fast?" she asked confused. "There was a lot of traffic."

After she spoke, her thoughts returned momentarily to Sho as she marveled at how easily she had been distracted from him. All because Ren had shown up and started talking to her. Her full attention was yanked right back to Ren though when he spoke again.

"We heard about it on the radio and managed to avoid it," Ren explained coming to stand beside her so that he could face Sho.

"What are you doing here?" Sho finally bit out angrily, finding his voice.

"Well, I had some time before my next job, and since this was on the way, and since Mogami-san had been so worried about my health earlier, I came to reassure her and to see what progress she's made," Ren answered calmly, placing a hand possessively on Kyoko's shoulder. His cold eyes contrasted the easy smile he was wearing.

Shoko and Yashiro knew what was going on. Ren was blatantly showing Sho that Kyoko wasn't the singer's, and Sho was getting mad. Daisuke and Aki were just more confused. The poor mens' heads were whipping from speaker to speaker as they tried to figure out what the relationship between the three young people was. Kyoko though was perhaps the most clueless to what was going on. She was oblivious to Sho's and Ren's hostility towards one another.

Sho noticed the difference between Ren's eyes and the rest of his demeanor. The possessive hand on Kyoko's shoulder did not go by unnoticed either. Sho wanted to growl at the other man. Sho had to occupy the biggest part of Kyoko's heart. He had to be the one on her mind. She was his and would never be anyone else's.

But right now, he could see that Kyoko was barely thinking of him. Her eyes were focused on Ren, and he had seen the happy smile she had given Ren when the actor's manager had said that they had eaten lunch. What was with that? This was all wrong. Completely wrong. Had the kiss he had given her on Valentine's Day already been forgotten?

He blamed Ren. Everything was Ren's fault.

And now the bastard was ushering Kyoko back onto the track, saying that he had to leave soon and that he wanted to see her ride first. That other guy was also getting ready to ride. And Sho, well he was going to -

"Sho! We have to go," Shoko told him as she started heading towards the car, planning to wait for him to catch up to her there.

Sho looked to her, startled out of his thinking, before looking back at Ren.

Yashiro had gone closer to the track with Aki, where Aki was instructing his two students. Sho was angered to see that not only did Kyoko ride well, but the guy with her did also. They were both better than him.

"You should go."

It was Ren's voice he heard. It was a sound that was really starting to piss him off.

"You think that you stand a chance of getting her?" Sho scoffed. Ever since Karuizawa, he had noticed Ren's possessiveness, and it bugged him. Kyoko was no one else's, let alone this jerk's. "She'll never stop thinking of me. You'll never win her heart."

"She's already forgetting about you," Ren retaliated coolly, "and you know it. She's not letting you rile her up. She turned her attention away from you. You're not the most important person in her life anymore. She's building a family. She has friends. Her heart will open up again, and I'll be there when that happens. I'm fighting for her."

Sho glared at Ren in disgust. "What you do doesn't matter. It'll always be me. Whether you're there for her or not. She'll never love you."

"She might never love me, but whatever else happens, I will not allow her to dwell on you. Even if she ultimately chooses someone else, as long as it's not you, I will be happy for her," Ren told Sho. Then Ren's eyes narrowed: "Your manager is waiting."

That was when Ren walked away, unable to deal with Sho anymore. His anger was rising. Sho's words echoed his very worst inner fears. That Kyoko would be unable to get over Sho. That Kyoko wouldn't be able to move on with her life. That even if she did, she wouldn't love him.

But then he remembered how brightly she had smiled at him. How readily she had accepted his touch on her shoulder. How much she worried for him. How she had ignored Sho and had focused her attention on him just now. She might not love him, but she accepted him, and his place in her life was most definitely rivaling Sho's. She cared what he thought about her. She sought his opinions. She respected him.

No. It wasn't love. But he wasn't losing to Sho.

"Tsuruga-san!"

His eyes snapped to Kyoko who was going around the track at a slow pace, one arm in the air, waving at him. Worry instantly seized him, but she lowered her hand and placed it back on the bike. Then she picked up speed, and he watched her fly around the track. She was a regular speed demon.

No. She couldn't be a demon.

She was his angel.

* * *

"She's starring in a drama!"

Sho had finally processed the first part of Daisuke's explanation for Kyoko's presence at the track.

Shoko rubbed her sore ears - they protested Sho's loud exclamation. Suddenly this was going to be a very long day.

* * *

Kyoko pulled the helmet off her head and looked at Daisuke with a smile on her face. Ren had to leave soon after stopping by, but she had felt elated since he had come. His presence had managed to distract her from Sho and calm her down somehow. Ren hadn't even known Sho was going to be at the track. He had dropped by just to visit her and to let her know that he had eaten like she had told him too.

That wasn't something he needed to do as her sempai. He could have just called... Maybe... No. Ren was her senior, he wasn't her friend... But he was treating her the same way Kanae sometimes did, and Kanae had openly admitted to being her friend... Kyoko was confused by his behavior to say the least. _'Maybe Ren really is a friend,' _she thought.

She started thinking about maybe asking him about it all so that she could unravel the mystery, but her thoughts were interrupted and she promptly forgot about her plan.

"Kyoko-san, you're really good for only a few days practice," Daisuke complimented her. "Heck, you're good for anyone."

"Thank-you, Yoshida-san," Kyoko answered happily, still exhilarated from her ride. The blush that would have come to her cheeks went by unnoticed because they were already flushed.

"Please. Call me Daisuke. Yoshida-san is much too formal," he told her, "I'm only a few years older than you."

"I'll try to remember that, Daisuke-san," Kyoko compromised, keeping the honorific on his first name.

After the brief exchange, the two packed up in relative silence while Aki checked over the bikes. As Kyoko finished getting ready by switching her riding boots for her flats, Aki approached the two with important news.

"Daisuke-san, you seem to know what you're doing. I could tell that you were out of practice when we started, but you seemed comfortable by the end. And Kyoko-san, your improvement continues and you're riding very well. Both of you are ready to get your motorcycle licence. I will take you at our next lesson. We'll load the two bikes into the back of my truck, and then we'll go get you two legal to ride on the road. As for being prepared for your movie scenes, you should both be fine. I'd like to continue lessons, though not as frequently, to make sure that you're staying in practice," Aki explained to them.

"I'm getting my licence?" Kyoko questioned, surprised by this turn of events. It was something she hadn't even though about.

"Of course," Aki answered, "if they have to shoot you driving down a road, even if they close it down, there could be some legal complications if you're not licenced. This way, we avoid trouble, and you can also ride around town for fun if you so choose."

"Sounds good," Daisuke commented.

Soon after that, the two actors said their goodbyes and walked back towards the parking lot. Daisuke had insisted on giving Kyoko a ride to wherever she needed to go.

"I have nothing else to do today, Kyoko-san. Really, it's fine. Just tell me where we're going," he told her for the umpteenth time.

Kyoko hated to impose on someone she barely knew, but a ride would be really helpful, so she finally gave in.

"Could you take me to the LME offices?" Kyoko asked as she buckled her seatbelt.

"Do you have a meeting there or something?" Daisuke asked.

"Or something. I have some work to do before I can go home," Kyoko replied, not wanting to talk about her pink jumpsuit or the menial tasks she would probably have to do when she got to the office building. She was only slightly embarrassed by the pink jumpsuit these days. Mostly she was unbothered by it, all because she was willing to do whatever it took for her to find her lost emotion.

"Maybe I could come pick you up afterwards?" Daisuke suggested when they were closer to the office. When he had first seen her at the cast meeting that afternoon, he had thought she was cute. Spending the little bit of time with her this afternoon had only encouraged that idea. The only reason he was offering her a ride instead of asking her out on a date was because he didn't want to seem too eager.

"Oh, you really don't have to!" Kyoko was quick to exclaim. "I couldn't possibly ask you to go out of your way again to pick me up, though it was very kind of you to offer. And anyways, I promised a friend that I would help her out with something after I was done working."

Kyoko didn't see Daisuke's face fall slightly at her answer. The American film star wasn't used to rejection. He was handsome and he knew it. Girls usually swooned when he asked them out. Kyoko however, was unaffected.

They arrived at LME and Kyoko climbed out of the car, thanking her co-star profusely.

"How about I walk you inside? I'm signed with LME now and since I'm here I might as well see if they've found me a personal manager yet," Daisuke said as he climbed out to join her.

Kyoko had no objections. It made her feel better that Daisuke actually had a reason for going out of his way to drop her off here now.

The two of them walked in through the actor's entrance to the building, and then headed for the acting department's offices. As they passed through a hallway near the Love Me office, Kyoko's eyes landed on a familiar shade of bright pink.

"Chiori-san!" she called out excitedly.

Chiori turned around, her eyes landing first on Kyoko, and then moving automatically to the man standing next to her. Daisuke was tall, though not nearly as tall as Ren, and his dark hair was long enough that he could tie it into a short ponytail. He had a small hoop earring in one ear, warm eyes, a square jaw, and broad shoulders. Chiori was sure that if he were to take off his shirt, she would catch sight of washboard abs. All in all, he was good looking.

Chiori's heart sped up for a moment. It was a natural reaction to seeing an attractive man. It was the same thing that had happened when she had been introduced to Tsuruga Ren by Kyoko. Just as quickly though, her heart returned to normal and she got over it. She had no need or desire for boys right now. She was too busy trying to become a better actress and finding the love she had lost to worry about guys. Just as quickly as her eyes had snapped to the man, they left him and focused back on Kyoko.

"Are you here to work, Kyoko-san?" Chiori asked when the introductions were done. She had only acknowledged Daisuke long enough to shake his hand.

"Yup. Do you need any help with anything?" Kyoko enquired.

"Not yet. I was just heading back to the office to see if there was any work to be done," Chiori answered.

"Then I'll join you," Kyoko said while she took a step away from Daisuke and towards the girl in pink, "I guess this is where I leave you Daisuke-san. I'll see you in two days at the track."

And with that she rushed off with Chiori, leaving the handsome actor alone in the hallway wondering what was different about these two girls that they were both so very unaffected by him. It wasn't his fault that the two were both Love Me Section members.

* * *

"Onee-sama!"

Kyoko looked up from the floor in the hallway she was mopping to see Maria, Lory's granddaughter, standing by the "Caution: Wet Floor" sign that Kyoko had put up remembering all too well the gum incident back when she had first joined LME.

"Hi, Maria-chan!" Kyoko called out just as cheerfully. She was happy to see the little girl who called her big sister.

"Are you almost done?" Maria shouted down the hallway, unwilling to walk on the potentially slippery floor.

"Yup! I'll be there in a second."

Kyoko had promised to go shopping with Maria. Of course shopping with Maria meant something entirely different than shopping with Kanae. Maria's fascination with the occult meant that of course the two girls would be visiting some "special" stores, and since Maria still loved to play, toy stores were also a must.

Kyoko finished up her mopping and headed carefully over to where Maria was, holding onto the wall for support. Once Kyoko had reached the dry part of the floor, Maria hugged her tightly. "Come on!" she urged Kyoko. "Put the mop away, get out of that jumpsuit, and let's go! Grandfather's limo's waiting!"

* * *

"Thanks so much for the ice cream!" Maria chirped sweetly while she licked the frozen treat with delight.

"That's what big sisters are for, no?" Kyoko remarked while she sat down heavily on a bench.

She was exhausted. Maria had tugged her from store to store. She had seen dresses and accessories, voodoo dolls and interactive games. And now Maria was loaded down with bags. She briefly wondered who gave Maria so much money to spend when a limo pulled up by the two girls_. 'I almost forgot about him,' _Kyoko thought, before the door burst open and Lory emerged.

He was dressed as a swordsman from the feudal era, though Kyoko was relieved to notice that he didn't actually have a sword with him. Whoever had designed this costume had been smart enough to not give the President something he could wave around in his excitement and potentially hurt other people with.

"How was shopping, Maria-chan?" he questioned excitedly, his eyes twinkling.

Maria hopped from her chair with her ice cream in hand to go stand by her grandfather. "It was great! I got everything I needed to, and I even bought onee-sama a present!"

Kyoko's head snapped up. _'What present?' _she thought. She didn't remember Maria buying anything for her. They had picked up a new ribbon for the little girl, presents for her father and grandfather, and some supplies to satisfy Maria's fascination with the occult. Kyoko hadn't seen Maria get anything else.

"Oh! You have to show it to me!" Lory exclaimed like an excited preteen.

"I'll dig it out in the car," Maria said as she finally moved passed her grandfather and climbed into the limo. "Are you coming onee-sama?"

Kyoko immediately stood and held her hands in front of her, shaking her head no. "It's okay. I don't need a ride. Really." She had been saying that a lot lately.

"Kyoko-chan, it's getting dark. Don't be silly. Let's go," Lory said, climbing in behind his granddaughter. He wasn't giving Kyoko a choice in the matter. Kyoko climbed in behind him, pulling the limo door shut and settling into the comfortable seat.

When the limo started moving, Lory turned his attention to his granddaughter.

"So what did you buy Kyoko-chan, Maria-chan?" he asked, the sparkle coming back into his eyes.

Kyoko repressed her groan for Lory's behavior while Maria dug rapidly through her assorted bags, coming up with a small black one. She handed it to Kyoko and smiled brightly. "I hope you like it! I saw Moko-san and Chiori-san looking at it in a magazine in the LME office. Moko-san said that she thought something like this might look good with your new dress."

Kyoko's curiosity peaked. She accepted the black bag, giving her thanks to Maria. Then she opened it and pulled out the small silver box. Kyoko looked up at Maria, with shock in her eyes.

The silver box was from a jewelry store, not a super expensive one mind you, but one that was renowned for their beautiful pieces. Kyoko gingerly lifted the lid from the box and felt a warm feeling starting somewhere in her body as she took the accessory from its case.

It was a bracelet made up of small, circular, polished pieces of turquoise set in silver. The set stones were held together by delicate silver links.

"Do you like it?" Maria asked nervously.

Kyoko didn't know what to say. She couldn't accept a gift like this. It was too much. She was about to say that she couldn't take it, but when she looked up and glanced at Maria's face, the words were lost.

"I love it. Thank-you, Maria-chan," she whispered instead, the warmth building in her.

She was rewarded by Maria's ecstatic smile. "I'm so happy that you're happy onee-sama! Now you have to wear it with the dress that Moko-san said it would match. I want to see you all dressed up!"

"Of course, Maria-chan," Kyoko answered. She owed Maria so much more than that.

Kyoko then turned to look at Lory, who was being bombarded by Maria's insistent: "Isn't it pretty, Grandpa?" His eyes were focused on her, and a small smile played on his lips. Kyoko turned her gaze back to Maria, not understanding Lory's look at all. The warm feeling was still in her heart, and it grew when she looked at the little girl who was truly like a little sister to her.

* * *

'_She doesn't realize that she already knows how to love. She shows it to almost everyone she meets, and she inspires others to show it to her. If only she could recognize it and desire it,' _Lory thought to himself while he looked at his very first Love Me member.

Kyoko had piqued his interest when she had shown up for the LME audition. Since then, every moment that she had spent with his agency had just made her more interesting to him. And her relationship with Maria and the little girl's high praise of Kyoko had only endeared his granddaughter's supposed "onee-sama" further to him.

Lory was very invested in her future now, and he wanted every happiness for her. Especially given the sad past he assumed she had. No father. A mother who didn't care where her daughter was. It was a sad life, and Lory guessed that was part of the reason the girl felt so incapable of love, even if she didn't realize it herself.

* * *

Sho sat fuming in a corner.

It wasn't supposed to be happening like this.

He was supposed to be leaving her behind in the dust.

Instead, she was becoming more famous.

He was supposed to be the only one on her mind.

Instead, he was losing his standing.

And who the hell did Tsuruga Ren think he was?

"You're not the most important person in her life anymore. She's building a family. She has friends. Her heart will open up again, and I'll be there when that happens. I'm fighting for her," Sho repeated Ren's words mockingly.

"Well then I'll fight too," he resolved.

"After all.... She's mine."

* * *

**A/N: I couldn't resist the Maria moment. She's adorable. This chapter's a little bit shorter. Oh well. Now we're going to skip over a few boring days. Coming up next time...the photo shoot! Sorry. We've spent too much time with Kyoko and her motorcycle already. Obviously she'll get her licence. We don't need to see that. Until next time.**


	5. Chapter 5: A Poisoned Apple Offered

**Disclaimer: Would I feel the need to put this here if I did in fact own Skip Beat!? And this time I will also disclaim Mob Princess...I've never actually read the books, but when someone said the movie plot sounded like it was from this series...well, I must have read the back covers before or something because it is definitely the same idea and coincidences like that don't happen very often. **

**Authoress' Notes: First. Sorry it took so long. I suffered from the bane of a writer's existence...the infamous Writer's Block. The middle of this chapter didn't come out how I'd like...no fun. But I do like the end, and I think I've at least beat my writer's block...or I hope so anyways.**

**Next. I am killing myself laughing, and I have been since the reviews for my last two chapters have been coming in. My character, Daisuke, has been getting quite a response. People seem to like him and feel sorry for him. That's something that I never imagined would happen! It brings such a smile to my face that I decided to put a new poll up on my profile. Who would you have Kyoko end up with in my story? I've been getting some interesting responses and messages so I'd like to see what everyone thinks. Please vote!**

**Sorry about these notes by the way. I feel like they get longer and longer. I do hope that you take the minute to read what I have to say here though. I usually put some info in these that you, my lovely readers, might be interested in. Like answers to some reviewers' questions and other little tidbits - like the fact that I might only have two updates between now and April 19****th**** - I have exams coming up and my schedule is getting really hectic with essays and midterms and projects. I'll try my best, but worse comes to worst, I'll make up for it in the Summer. I have four months of vacation after all, and I won't be working.**

**Kyoko's Fairytale is live in 3...2...1...ACTION!**

* * *

"Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, Kyoko-chan," the okami of the Daruma-ya called after Kyoko as the girl took the steps up to her room, two at a time.

Tomorrow, she would have to leave early to make it to the photo shoot on time. They wanted her to be there at eight in the morning for makeup.

Kyoko got ready for bed, changing into a pair of long, blue, plaid pyjama bottoms and a black tank top. She was about to climb under her covers and get comfortable when she heard the sound of her ringing cell phone. So instead of getting comfy, she strode over to her bag and grabbed her phone from the front pocket, silencing it quickly by answering the call.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Hello, Mogami-san."

"Ah, Tsuruga-san. Hi," Kyoko answered immediately.

"I was wondering if you needed a ride to the photo shoot tomorrow," Ren gave her his reason for calling.

Kyoko smiled on her end of the phone. "Actually, I already have a ride for tomorrow," she told him.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a second, and Kyoko thought that somehow she had offended Ren. She was about to start apologizing when his voice broke through the silence.

"Oh. Who's driving you?"

Kyoko laughed into the phone happily. "No one is. I'm driving myself over. I've had the motorcycle I'll be using in the movie since I got my licence. Aki-san let me drive it home after I passed the test. I have to leave it with the prop department tomorrow though."

Kyoko didn't hear Ren's relieved sigh.

"Would you accept a ride home after the photo shoot's done then, since you'll be without a vehicle?" he asked her next.

"Oh, Tsuruga-san, I can't say ye-"

"No. You can say yes. I wouldn't keep offering if it was an inconvenience."

"Yes. That would be nice. Thank-you," she replied dutifully, a small little smile working onto her lips. Ren knew her usual protests too well. She had been about to say that she couldn't say yes since it would be such an inconvenience for him.

'_Maybe I should just stop resisting his offers,' _Kyoko thought, the small smile still floating on her lips. She would just say yes when Ren proffered his assistance in some way from now on. He had made it clear enough to her that he would stop offering his help and rides and meals when he didn't want to do any of it anymore.

"Then I'll let you get your rest," Ren concluded, interrupting Kyoko's silent musing. "Goodnight, Mogami-san. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Tsuruga-san," Kyoko murmured into the phone before hanging up and finally climbing into her bed to get some much needed rest. Tomorrow would be a long day.

* * *

It was a quarter to eight, and most of the actors in _Mob Daughter _had already gathered at the studio they were going to be using for the photo shoot. It was the same studio where they would be filming many of the show's scenes. Ren was already there with Yashiro, and he was waiting anxiously for Kyoko to come, checking his watch every few minutes. Kyoko was usually early, and even though he had seen that she was good on her motorcycle, he was still getting more and more worried when the seconds ticked by and she continued not to show up.

Suddenly, the sound of a motorcycle pulling up by the studio's door, that was held propped open to let in some air, grabbed everyone's attention. When the rider walked in a minute later, dressed in skinny jeans, black boots that came halfway up her calf, and a feminine black leather jacket, her bright red helmet (her purse sitting inside it) propped under one arm and her hair mussed up cutely, all of the younger men in the room couldn't help but stare.

Kyoko looked sort of dangerous. And she looked good.

She made her way over to where Ren was standing and greeted him cheerfully, a genuine smile coming to her face and shattering the dangerous aura around her.

"Hi, Tsuruga-san! Yashiro-san!" she said to the two men.

"Hi, Kyoko-san!" Yashiro returned happily.

"Hello, Mogami-san."

"Isn't today a beautiful day?" she asked the two of them, giving a happy sigh. It was in fact a gorgeous day, what with the sun shining brightly in the sky and an unseasonable warm wind blowing through.

"Not as beautiful as you."

Kyoko whirled around to see that Daisuke had come up behind her. She didn't notice Ren's eyes narrow.

"Didn't I tell you to stop saying weird things like that, Daisuke-san?" Kyoko scolded him.

Daisuke looked momentarily crestfallen. When the two had gone to get their licences with Aki he had tried to compliment her in much the same way, and she had told him pretty much the same thing. He wasn't ready to give up just yet though. So he put the smile back on his face before answering her: "You did. I'm sorry. I'll stop."

"Thank-you," she replied before excusing herself from Ren, Yashiro, and Daisuke. She was being called to makeup.

Ren was not happy to say the least. Daisuke was blatantly trying to flirt with Kyoko. Luckily, Kyoko was pretty much oblivious to it. And what was with her calling Daisuke by his first name? She had only met the guy a little more than a week ago. She had known Ren for much longer than that. Why didn't she call him by his first name?

It was probably mostly his fault for always calling her Mogami-san. And she thought of him as her sempai first and foremost and would continue to address him formally unless he made the first move. He didn't want to freak her out though by suddenly calling her Kyoko. But there was no way to really gradually move towards it. He would just have to take the plunge and deal with whatever reaction Kyoko had.

"Is she always like that?"

Ren became aware that the other actor hadn't stalked off when Kyoko had left and was now talking to him.

"I'm sorry?" Ren asked. He hadn't really heard the question. He had been absorbed in his own thoughts.

"I was wondering if she's always like that," Daisuke told Ren motioning vaguely with his hand in the direction that Kyoko had disappeared.

When Ren didn't answer immediately, Daisuke elaborated a bit, "I thought you might have some idea. She said that the two of you have worked together before."

Ren knew he should answer, though he was reluctant to impart any information to Daisuke, however trivial it was, just in case it actually proved helpful for the other actor. "Yes," he finally said with his polite smile, "she's always like that."

"Is she a tease or something?" Daisuke asked, pondering the girl who had so captured his attention and who hardly acknowledged his attempts to engage her in flirty banter.

Ren couldn't help it. Really. Anyone who knew Kyoko well and had heard Daisuke's words would have had the exact same reaction.

He snorted.

Yashiro, who was standing next to Ren and listening to the exchange, tried unsuccessfully to keep from doing the same thing. Kyoko? Deliberately teasing someone?

"She's the furthest thing from it," Ren said, regaining his composure quickly.

It was then that both actors were called into hair and makeup.

* * *

"And now for the finishing touch," the woman who had been working on Kyoko for the last half hour said as she grabbed a wig from a box and slid it onto Kyoko's head. "You look beautiful, Kyoko-san," she sighed finally, observing her work.

"Thank-you," Kyoko gushed, staring at herself in the mirror.

How could she accept that compliment so readily when she had scolded Daisuke for saying essentially the same thing? Easy. She was now wearing make up. Professionally applied makeup. And she felt like a princess - even if she might not have exactly been dressed like one.

The knee high, gray boots she wore were the first thing that caught your attention, and then your eyes traveled up her bare thighs until they saw the bottoms of black, denim shorts. Your gaze was quickly pulled upward by the contrasting white t-shirt she wore, and then even further up by the darkness of her hair against the pale shirt.

The wig was primarily black, and tumbled down to the middle of her back. The hair was straight, and sweet side bangs fell into her left eye. What made the hair stand out once it caught your attention though were the soft pink streaks that decorated the under side. Kyoko, when she had first seen the wig, had thought that the streaks wouldn't work, that they would make her look like some kind of punk. But they did work. The softness of the pink balanced out the black cascades perfectly.

She also would admit that she had first thought that her outfit was boring and plain, but studying herself in the mirror, she had realized it was perfect. It was what some teenage girl would wear. The boots made her taller, made her seem like she could tower over everyone around her, made her look in charge. And the white shirt - well it made her seem more normal, more like just another face in the crowd, more innocent. Just like with the wig, the contrast was perfect.

And just to top it all off...her face! Oh how her face looked pretty all made up the way it was! Kyoko wished fervently that she could look like this every day, and she felt her heart suddenly leap with joy when she realized that even though every day might not be an option, she would get to look like this at least every day that they were filming.

"Kyoko-san, we're ready for you on set. The director wants the photographer to take a few group shots first," one of the crew members rushed in to tell her.

Kyoko turned away from the mirror and gave the girl a sweet smile before brushing the wig's bangs to the side of her face so that they wouldn't fall into her eyes. Then she walked out of her dressing room and down the hallway, eventually rounding the corner that took her back into the big open space of the studio.

"Well, don't you look good."

Kyoko turned to meet the voice, and then smiled at the woman who had complimented her. Kyoko was made-up - her reception of compliments had improved. "Thank-you, Abe-san. You look good too."

"Just Hiromi," the actress urged before laughing, "and I do look good, don't I? These makeup artists never cease to amaze me."

The makeup artists weren't the only ones behind Hiromi's beauty though. The dark-haired woman was fair skinned and thin, and her bright blue eyes shone. The modest, short sleeved, v-neck, black dress she wore hugged her body in a very flattering way, covering her up until the dress hit her knees. The black pumps on her feet elongated her already lengthy legs.

"Shall we go join those gawking men over there?" Hiromi asked a second later, linking her arm with Kyoko's and pointing to where a dark red background had been set up.

Kyoko was surprised by the contact, but after a second she accepted the kind woman's arm. It was weird to be walking around with the older Hiromi like they were two best friends, but at the same time, it brought a warm feeling to Kyoko's heart. She would be glad to get to know Hiromi more.

Kyoko, of course, was pondering this and was completely oblivious to the so called "gawking men" that Hiromi had mentioned. She didn't see that the woman hadn't been exaggerating. The five younger males in the drama had their eyes glued on Kyoko's exposed thighs. Her shorts were short, but not scandalously so, and there was a lot of exposed, pale, soft flesh between the top of her boots and the bottom of her shorts.

Hiromi snorted rather undignifiedly. Even Ren, an actor who she knew to be calm and composed and generally unaffected by his co-stars, was staring at Kyoko.

'_It's not fair to judge him though. Even I was moved by her,' _Hiromi thought, realizing she couldn't really blame Ren for his reaction. She had been attracted to the young girl herself in a way as soon as she had heard her speak. Hiromi had never married and had no children of her own. Almost immediately, she had thought that Kyoko was everything she would have wanted a daughter of her's to be - intelligent, sensible, shy and yet somehow outgoing, dedicated to her work, and beautiful.

"Kyoko-san! Hiromi-san!" Shingai hurried the two females along.

Kyoko finally left the realm of her own thoughts and scanned the rest of the actors over. Kijima Hidehito and the two other actors who would be playing her brothers (she now knew their names to be Sasaki Isamu and Tanaka Kei) were in jeans and short sleeved, navy polos. Daisuke was in jeans and a plain, black, button up shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, the top few buttons left open. The three older men were all in black dress pants, and Mori Fumio, playing the chief of police, wore a white dress shirt, Hayashi Ryo, the rival mob boss, wore a black dress shirt, and Arai Kazuki, her character's father, wore a navy dress shirt.

Finally her gaze turned to Ren. He was in jeans like the other young men in the drama, and he wore a white, button up shirt, the sleeves pushed up like Daisuke's and the top buttons undone. Kyoko knew the look suited Ren, and combined with his artfully mussed up hair, it gave him the appearance of being younger.

As soon as the women joined the group, director Shingai and the photographer immediately started arranging the actors around Kyoko.

In the end, a black table was brought in, and the tableau was set up so that Kyoko was standing with the table at her back, leaning casually against it, her hands propping herself up, her right leg crossed over her left. Kijima sat on the ground on her left, facing sideways, leaning against her legs, while Isamu and Kei sat on the table on either side of Kyoko. Hiromi stood on Kyoko's left, next to Isamu, and Kazuki stood on her right, next to where Kei sat. Daisuke and the actor playing his father, Ryo, stood about a foot away from Hiromi, Ryo's hand on Daisuke's shoulder. Ren and the actor playing his father the police chief, Fumio, stood a foot away from Kazuki, Fumio's hand on Ren's shoulder - luckily, Fumio was a tall man.

Once everyone was in position, the photographer told them all where to look. Daisuke and Ren were both staring at Kyoko. Fumio and Ryo were both glaring at Kazuki, who was staring longingly at Hiromi, who in turn was staring at her "children". The boys on Kyoko's left, Kijima and Isamu, were glaring at Ryo and Daisuke, while Kei was glaring at Ren and Fumio. Kyoko was the only one looking straight at the camera, a small smirk on her lips, and a happily defiant look in her eyes.

The photographer snapped his shots and they were all free to move.

"Perfect. We'll shoot another group shot after lunch. For now, I want the parents over here for some shots. Everyone else, go get changed for your next pictures. Kyoko-san, please put on outfit number four. I want to shoot the pictures of you and the bike next," Shingai directed everyone - as directors are prone to do.

"Of course!" Kyoko replied before dashing back to her dressing room to change quickly, even though she knew that the adults' pictures would take a while. After all, they had posed for the group shot for a good twenty minutes after everyone had been moved into position. Perfection took time.

* * *

"Okay. Now lean further over the handle bars, Kyoko-san, and look right at the camera. Turn on the fan and-"

Click. Click. Click.

Kyoko heard the shutters of the camera snapping together, over and over again.

And finally she heard the photographer's glorious words.

"We're done."

Kyoko ambled off the bike, a little wobbly in the slightly heeled boots that no sensible person would ever wear while riding a motorcycle - her legs were sore from propping herself and the bike up for so long. _'A sensible person would also wear a helmet,' _she mused. But this was just a photo and meant to promote the show. They needed to see her face.

"We're going to do some of the boys' shots now, Kyoko-san," Shingai said, coming up to her. "If everything stays on schedule, we should have time for your shots with Ren-san and Daisuke-san before lunch. Could you go change again?"

Kyoko bobbed her head and strode off slowly, watching her every step. Her legs were still a little weak and she would be horribly embarrassed if she stumbled and fell.

Somehow, she managed to make it back to her dressing room, where her next costume change was already laid out on a chair. So Kyoko slipped off her boots, then the pale skinny jeans she wore, followed by her v-neck black sweater. Next, she slipped on the dress that had been picked out for her, followed by a pair of black, strappy heels.

She strode over to the mirror on shaky legs - the heels on the shoes were ridiculously high - and took a long look at herself.

Her mouth dropped open in pleasant surprise. The dress was simple, primarily black, except for a horizontal stripe of white at her hips, and another vertical stripe of white where the black, knee-length skirt parted to reveal the white underskirt. The top of the dress was tight, and held up by straps that were braided ropes of black and white fabric.

"Oh! You're dressed already. Good."

Kyoko turned around to see that her hair and makeup artist had entered the room.

"Now, we need to fix up that wig of your's. The director and I were thinking something more along the lines of an updo. You know...elegant yet cute," she continued on, motioning for Kyoko to sit down, her hands already fluttering around the wig's long pieces of hair.

* * *

When Ren saw Kyoko approaching him and Daisuke, the both of them wearing simple black tuxes - Ren with a red shirt and white tie, Daisuke with a black shirt and black tie - he could have sworn his heart stopped beating for a moment.

Kyoko looked absolutely beautiful. Not that she wasn't beautiful every day, but now it seemed that everyone else was noticing too if Daisuke's wide-eyed look and several of the male crew members' open jaws were any indication. Her hair was swept up in a loose bun, strands falling to frame her face. Her eyes had been outlined with smoky eyeliner, and her lips were now painted a pale red. And her dress... It hugged her body in all the right places, the flowing skirt somehow making her short legs seem longer.

She walked over slowly, and Ren could tell that she wasn't used to the pencil thin heels she was wearing. When she reached the two men and wobbled unsteadily, Ren grabbed her elbow gently to stabilize her, and Kyoko flashed him a brilliant smile in thanks.

"Thanks. I'm not used to walking around in shoes like this," she mumbled afterwards, glaring at the offensive footwear. Sure the heels were pretty, but they weren't worth the pain. They were not something she would ever pick out for herself. Even the heels she wore when she portrayed Natsu were a lot more...walk-in-able.

Ren didn't have a chance to say anything in response.

"Alright," the director said, clapping his hands together to get the attention of the three young actors, "we have half an hour to get these done, but I'm sure we can finish much sooner than that. We want shots of all three of you together so that we can catch the audience's attention with the love triangle. So Kyoko, you're going to be in the middle. Boys on either side of her to start."

And from there, they went through pose after pose in rapid succession.

First, Kyoko between the two boys, her arms crossed in front of her, their arms crossed and them glaring at each other over her head. Ren couldn't help but let a little of his real animosity for Daisuke out in his facial expression. The director and photographer both praised him for the realism.

Then, they brought in three desks and set them up in a row, the one in the middle a little further forward than the other two. Kyoko sat at this one, her elbows on the table top and her head propped in her hands and cocked sideways, staring wistfully just past the camera. Ren and Daisuke took the school desks on either side, both with their gazes fixed on her. The formalwear the three were in contrasted strikingly with their casual poses.

Next, they took two of the desks away while Kyoko hopped up to sit on the one left behind. Each man held one of her hands, though she looked at neither of them, a confused look on her face.

A few poses later, they finally arrived at the last one. Ren had his arms wrapped around Kyoko's waist so that she was pressed gently into his chest. Daisuke stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her stomach, a little lower than Ren's. Kyoko held one hand up against Ren's chest while the other rested on Daisuke's hands closed over her stomach. They both stared down at her, but her head was turned sideways towards the camera, though this time she wasn't looking at it. Her head was turned downwards so that her bangs fell into her eyes.

Ren couldn't believe that he held Kyoko in his arms so intimately. Sure it was sort of ruined by the fact that Daisuke was also holding her, but he didn't really care. When the director said they were done, he was reluctant to let her go, and instead of releasing her completely, he moved his hands from her waist to her arm, eventually tucking said arm into the crook of his elbow.

"Let me help you back to your dressing room so that you can change out of those shoes. We wouldn't want you to fall and bruise yourself right before we start filming," Ren said casually, already guiding Kyoko away from the set and any other man's eyes.

Kyoko remembered the conclusion she had reached last night to let Ren help her for as long as he kept offering. And if she didn't want to walk back to her dressing room barefoot - her feet were killing her after wearing the shoes for a measly half hour! - she did need a little bit of help. She gave him her gratitude, "Thanks."

Ren was surprised by her lack of protest, but he took it in stride. It could only be a good thing.

"Mogami-san," Ren started, before he decided that now was as good a time as any to try using her first name. She was in a good mood, she was letting him walk arm in arm with her, and she couldn't run away in those deathtraps someone had deigned to call shoes.

Kyoko was looking at him expectantly.

"You're welcome, Kyoko-san," Ren said after inhaling deeply.

Kyoko stopped walking.

She was stunned by Ren's use of her first name. The only other time she could remember him saying it was when he had been sick - and he had been delusional then she was sure.

Ren almost tried to take it back. But no. He'd have to get past this roadblock one day or another if he ever wanted her to see him as more than her senior. Why not today?

"Kyoko-san? Are you alright?" he asked, purposefully using her name again.

"T-Tsuruga-san?" Kyoko questioned him unsurely. He had used her first name once more. It couldn't have been an accident then. What could he mean by it? What was he trying to tell her? Did he not want to be her sempai anymore? Was he breaking up the relationship that they had?

"Call me Ren. Don't you think we know each other well enough for that now?" Ren had picked his words carefully. They were meant to make her think, just as they were meant to reinforce the idea that the two of them were good acquaintances.

Kyoko stared up at Ren, with whom she still had her arm linked. A slight blush rose to her cheeks. She had doubted him, but it seemed he wasn't trying to get away from her at all. Thinking back on the time they'd spent together, Kyoko remembered how Ren had helped her, stood up for her, had faith in her. And then she remembered their previous evening's conversation.

'_I wouldn't keep offering if it was an inconvenience.'_ Those had been Ren's words. Would he say something he didn't mean? She didn't think so. If he was helping her to her dressing room now, if he was driving her home later...he couldn't possibly be trying to push her away.

"Yeah. I guess... Ren-san," Kyoko tried the name. Somehow, it wasn't as awkward to say it as she had thought it would be.

She was met with Ren's blinding, genuine smile.

The two started moving towards Kyoko's room again when Ren gently encouraged Kyoko forward. Neither of them spoke another word until they reached the door to Kyoko's dressing room, though their silence was entirely comfortable.

"I'll be back in a minute to meet you for lunch, Kyoko-san," Ren said after he had walked Kyoko into the room and deposited her in a chair where she could easily slip off her shoes. He didn't want her to forget the new place they had reached.

"Okay, Ren-san," Kyoko responded, testing the name again. It still wasn't weird. In fact, it almost felt...right.

* * *

"You want what?" Shoko's eyes were wide open in shock.

"I want you two to call LME and offer Kyoko the lead role in my new music video," Sho made his demand once again.

Shoko sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Do you actually think she'll accept?" Asami Haruki, Sho's producer, asked calmly. She would be directing Sho's next video, just as she had directed the video for his song _Prisoner_.

"Of course she'll accept," Sho muttered darkly, "she won't back down from a direct challenge like this."

"Sho, what are you trying to accomplish?" Shoko wanted answers. He hadn't exactly exhibited the behavior of a boy trying to win a girl's affections when he had encountered Kyoko at the track. Wasn't that what he was aiming for? To win Kyoko back?

"Nothing," Sho answered automatically.

Asami could recognize that Kyoko was becoming an amazing actress, but she knew that for this particular role, Kyoko would not be ideal. What it entailed... well, it would be impossible between Sho and Kyoko if the animosity between the two was anything like how it had been the last time they had been on set together. And from what Shoko had told her, the last interaction she had witnessed between Kyoko and Sho had been nothing close to pleasant.

"Are you sure she'll stick with the role once she finds out what her character has to do?" Asami asked.

"She's too proud to give up. She won't let me beat her," Sho answered. And then, "Just offer her the role."

Shoko knew that this would end badly. Like Sho, she felt that Kyoko would accept. But what would happen when Kyoko learned what the role entailed? Again, Shoko felt the same as her charge - that Kyoko would go through with it anyways because of her pride. Was that Sho's plan then? Was this how he was trying to get closer to Kyoko?

Shoko sighed at precisely the same time that Asami did. Kyoko's agency would encourage her to take the job - they would undoubtedly see it as a way to promote her before the release of her new drama's first episode. But what would happen after that? Whatever did occur, both of them would have to deal with it.

"I'll go make the call," Asami muttered reluctantly. This was against her better judgement, but she knew that she would be unable to convince Sho to let her hire someone else unless Kyoko rejected them first.

She sincerely hoped that would be the case.

* * *

Kyoko, Yashiro, and Ren were sitting together for lunch as they tended to do when they were working together. Kyoko was regaling them with the story of her and Maria's shopping trip when she suddenly stopped talking and ducked under the table.

"Uh... Kyoko-san," Yashiro started before Ren placed a hand on his manager's shoulder. A silent suggestion to just wait a moment.

And a second later, Kyoko popped back up, having extracted her buzzing cell phone from the purse between her feet.

"I think it's the office. Would you excuse me?" she implored. When they both nodded their heads, she simply turned away from them in her chair and opened the phone, holding it up to her ear.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Kyoko-chan!"

It was Sawara's excited voice on the other end.

"Hi, Sawara-san," Kyoko answered him, rapidly running through a list of reasons why he would call and sound so happy in her head. She came up blank.

"I have some exciting news for you," Sawara continued.

"Really?" Kyoko asked, intrigued.

"Another job offer came in," Sawara responded almost immediately.

"What is it?" Kyoko asked just as quickly, Sawara's excitement finally catching. Another job offer was amazing, but unless it was short work, she didn't think she could make time for it in her schedule.

"Fuwa Sho wants you to star in his next music video. Apparently you must have made quite the impression last time-"

If Sawara said anything after that, Kyoko didn't hear him. She had dropped the phone to her lap in shock as soon as she had processed the words: _"Fuwa Sho wants you to star in his next music video"_.

"Kyoko! Kyoko!"

She heard Sawara's raised voice echoing tinnily from the phone.

"Kyoko-san."

This voice managed to grab her attention. She turned to Ren, and saw that he was looking at her anxiously.

"Kyoko-san, give me the phone," Ren tried again.

Kyoko was too stunned to do anything other than listen. She wordlessly handed her cell to Ren, Sawara's concerned voice still echoing from it, placing it in his outstretched palm. Then she crossed her arms on the table in front of her and lay her head down on them, using them like a pillow. She only vaguely registered Ren's short conversation with the manager of her department.

She was angry at Sho for what she was sure was some sort of challenge, and yet she was still confused by why he would issue it. He had to have an ulterior motive of some sort... and just like that, unwanted thoughts of his kiss on Valentine's day drifted into her head, only to be banished abruptly - it wouldn't be good for her to dwell on that. Instead, she let her mind race, dissecting what she had just heard, trying to interpret Sho's motives and decide her course of action.

* * *

"Hello? Kyoko-chan?"

"Sawara-san. It's Tsuruga Ren. Kyoko's feeling a little faint right now. Do you think you could pass the message you had for her to me if it's not too personal?" Ren answered the man's frantic voice.

"Oh. Ren-san. I... Of course. Kyoko's been offered a role in Fuwa Sho's new music video. Let her know that it will only be a day of filming. I believe that she should have time in her schedule for that. And the video will be released before the first episode of her new drama, so I strongly encourage that she take the role. It will help to promote her," Sawara told Ren.

"I'll let her know everything as soon as she recovers from her brief spell," Ren said in reply.

Then the two men exchanged goodbyes and Ren hung up.

He had carefully concealed his anger while on the phone with Sawara, but now it started leaking out. Who did Sho think he was? What the hell was he doing? In his opinion, Kyoko had to reject the role. It couldn't lead to anything good. And looking at Kyoko, with her head on her hands, it seemed like she would choose the path he wanted her to take without any hints from him.

"What was that all about?" Yashiro asked. Ren's manager was very confused. He had absolutely no idea what was going on. Why did Kyoko look ready to pass out? Why was Ren so pale and clenching the edge of the table with a hand that was turning white at the knuckles?

"Kyoko was offered another job. I don't think this particular one is right for her though," Ren explained as calmly as he could.

He was startled when Kyoko lifted her head abruptly from her hands and stared right at him, her eyes pleading with him silently. Ren didn't understand her motions until he heard the words that followed them.

"I'm going to do it. I'm going to take the role in Sho's music video."

* * *

**Authoress' Notes: Remember, much less frequent updates until my exams are done in April. Sorry. School comes first.**


	6. Chapter 6: Biting the Poisoned Apple

**Disclaimer: And the word itself implies enough...if you're not sure...check earlier chapters.**

**Authoress' Notes: Let me start off by saying...this is probably my only update before April 19****th**** (the day of my final exam). Boo. But I have so much to do before the end of term and then so much to study. This chapter's shorter than usual...I know. But I really wanted to give you something to fill the large gap. The next thing is a warning. So...**

**WARNING: I am not a lyricist! I wish I was... but that doesn't change the fact that I'm not. So bear with the awful cheesiness I managed to concoct for you darlings. I think it gets the point across.**

**And to answer a question posed last chapter...the things in the story's summary WILL happen...they just need to be set up!**

**Kyoko's Fairytale is live in 3...2...1...ACTION!**

* * *

Ren was trying very hard to remain cool and composed in light of Kyoko's announcement. But he was finding it incredibly difficult. He settled for asking her: "What?"

"It's a job just like any other. I have time for it, and it will be a good way to promote myself some more before the release of _Mob Daughter_ - and I'm sure Sawara-san is thinking the exact same thing. It's not like I'd ever volunteer for the role, but it was offered to me," Kyoko explained with her pleading eyes. "And I'm not going to back out of a role just because his presence looms over it, I'm not going to be afraid of him - even if he explicitly asked for me. The more roles I take, the better I get, and the more I expand my experience."

Ren couldn't tell Kyoko that she couldn't take the job. What right did he have to do that? He couldn't even feign anger at her for trying to do this for revenge, because she wasn't - she just wasn't backing down. And he knew that logically, she was right - there was no reason not to take a role just because Sho was involved. And it's not like she would be in any actual danger. But he also knew that Sho surely had something planned.

"You're right, Kyoko-san," Ren told her. It was hard to do.

Kyoko, for her part, looked utterly shocked. She hadn't expected Ren to agree with her so quickly. Last time she had worked with Sho, he had been furious - though that had been when he thought she was still acting for revenge. This wasn't for revenge though. This was to prove to Sho that she wasn't intimidated by him and that she could act out her role in spite of his presence. This was for her career and her development. It was not to get back at him.

"It won't be fun, though," she added as an afterthought, her mouth twisting into a grimace at the thought of putting up with Sho for a whole day on a tiny music video set.

Ren smiled despite his misgivings about the job. That was much more like the reaction he had expected.

"I should probably call Sawara-san back to let him know that I accept before we resume taking pictures. Can I have my phone, Ren-san?" Kyoko asked, extending her hand.

Ren placed the phone in Kyoko's hand and watched her step away from the table to make her call.

"I'll find out when she's shooting - maybe you'll have some time in your schedule to go visit her on Sho's set," Yashiro suggested.

And once again, Ren was happy that his manager insisted on being too involved in his personal life.

* * *

"She accepted the job, didn't she?" Shoko asked.

"Did you really expect anything else to happen?" Asami answered Shoko's question with her own, putting her cell phone back in her pocket. She had just heard back from Kyoko's manager.

Shoko sighed and shook her head. "No. But I had hoped she would say no. I have a feeling that this won't go well."

"It can't really be any worse than the last time, can it?" Asami asked. "I mean the tension was absolutely palpable, and there were some speed bumps, but the job got done and the video turned out wonderfully."

"But last time, Kyoko got to play the role of someone who disliked Sho. This time around, especially with Sho acting how he is... it's going to get ugly."

* * *

The photo shoot was done and Kyoko was presently climbing out of Ren's car to head into the Daruma-ya.

"Kyoko-san, since the set for _Mob Daughter _is on my way to my first job of the day, I'll come pick you up," Ren said while Kyoko still held the passenger side door open. They had dropped Yashiro off first again.

Kyoko nodded and offered her thanks for the ride home, shutting the door behind her.

Ren watched to make sure she was safely inside before driving home, thoughts of Kyoko and Sho on set together for the singer's music video racing through his mind.

Similar thoughts were also bouncing around Kyoko's head. After talking to Sawara, she had learned that she would be filming the music video this weekend since her schedule permitted it. Sho's manager would send her a copy of the song before then so she could get a feel for it. Her determination to see this through had only grown in the hours since she had made her decision. She would act her best, do the job to perfection, avoid Sho when she could, and show him that he couldn't scare her or trap her or whatever he was trying to do.

"Kyoko-chan?"

Kyoko left the world inside her head and looked at the okami of the Daruma-ya, who was calling her name.

"Sorry," Kyoko said with a small bow, "I guess I'm just a little distracted by work right now."

"That's okay, Kyoko-chan. I was just going to tell you that someone stopped by earlier today wanting to see you," the okami explained, a smile on her face for Kyoko's cute behaviour.

"Who was it?" Kyoko asked curiously. Everyone she knew who would want to see her had her cell phone number and would have had the sense to call her first.

"He left a business card," the okami said, digging around behind the counter. "Ah. Here it is."

She handed the card to Kyoko, who immediately began to examine it. It said it was for a Harada Tsutomu. And apparently, he was a "journalist" for _Celebrity Beat_,one of the big magazines that liked to report on what celebrities were doing - often inaccurately. What could he want from her?

Maybe he had heard how she was Ren's kouhai and he wanted to interview her to get some information on Ren, one of the most scandal free stars in the business...

Well, that wasn't going to happen.

Kyoko knew that it was rude, but she tore the business card up anyways.

"If he comes back," Kyoko told the okami, "just to tell him I'm not interested in talking to him."

And then she trooped to her room to get some much needed rest after the long day of picture taking. She had another long day ahead of her tomorrow.

* * *

"That was great, Kyoko-chan."

Kyoko smiled and hopped off the motorcycle she was currently balanced on. The opening scene of the drama was going to be serious and a little dark, with a man getting shot for trying to cheat another man in a deal - though you could only see the figures of the men and not their faces, keeping their identities secret. Some of her scenes would come right after that to supply a necessary contrast.

Director Shingai was planning to shoot everything as close to sequential order as possible, wanting the story to unfold for the actors in the same way it would unfold for their viewers. So Kyoko had had to go outdoors and be filmed riding her motorbike down the street outside a nearby school (where they would be filming some scenes) several times from different angles. Then, they had filmed her pulling into a parking space at the school a few times, again from different angles. And finally, they had filmed the last bit.

Kyoko had had to use her feet to prop herself and the bike up while she had straddled it. Then she had taken off her helmet, under which her hair had been tucked, and had shaken out the slightly tangled mess, a small smile on her face. She had nailed it on the first try, and Shingai had been happy with how the scene looked in playback, so they would be moving on.

The next scenes in the story were to be shot inside the school, but there were still classes going on, and the director had only obtained permission to use the building when the school day was actually over. So they would be filming those scenes later on when most of the students would be headed home. Instead, they moved on to a scene where Kyoko's character was headed home after a day of classes.

* * *

"_Saki! Wait up!"_

_Saki stopped walking and turned around on her heel to see who was calling her._

"_You always leave so fast after classes, Saki-chan," the other girl complained, bending over to catch her breath._

_Saki laughed. "Or maybe it just takes you too long to get ready after class, Miki-chan. If you didn't talk to all the boys, you would be out quicker than me," she answered._

_Miki stuck her tongue out and looked like she was about to retort when the sound of a car honking filled the air._

_Saki sighed upon hearing it, then turned away from her friend to face the parking lot._

_When her eyes landed on the sleek, black car, she groaned. When the door opened and a man stepped out, she groaned again._

"_Who's that?" Miki wondered breathlessly._

"_Saki! Get your ass in gear!" the man called._

"_You know him?" Miki asked, now gripping Saki's arm tightly._

"_Yeah," Saki answered her, a frown on her face. Then she raised her voice to shout at the approaching man. "I brought the bike today, moron. I don't need a ride home."_

"_That's no way to talk to your brother," the man scolded, having reached her. "And we already picked up your bike this afternoon. Now get in the car - and we're not going home. Ah, and who's this charming lady?"_

"_That lady, brother dearest, is my friend Miki, and she needs to get going or her mother will kill her for being late," Saki said._

"_Oh shit," Miki cursed. "Bye, Saki," she shouted as she ran away._

_Saki's brother laughed. "She's cute," he said._

"_And she's off limits," Saki warned, walking past him and heading for the car. "In fact, every girl at this school is off limits. You're not going to ruin what I have here."_

"_Saki, you need to be more proud of your family. You shouldn't be so ashamed. The designer clothes you're wearing right now are courtesy of the family business."_

"_It's not a business," Saki retorted, climbing into the car. "And it's not that I'm not grateful for what I have. I just want my life to be normal - I don't want my friends to be terrified of me."_

"_Normal's overrated," her brother answered her._

_Saki punched his arm._

"_You're clueless," she said, slumping down into her seat and turning her head to look out the window._

* * *

"You punch really hard, Kyoko-chan," Kijima complained, rubbing the sore spot on his arm. He had been playing the, as of yet nameless, brother in the last sequence of scenes with Kyoko.

Kyoko smiled sheepishly and promptly apologized.

"It's fine, Kyoko-chan," he laughed, waving off her apology. "I'm just teasing you."

Kyoko smiled more brightly. Kijima was always so friendly with everyone and so lighthearted that it was hard not to.

"Alright. The school day is over in ten minutes, so we can start shooting some of the scenes we passed over. It'll take us a while to set up the cameras and lighting, so everyone has a forty-five minute break," Shingai announced, already motioning for the camera and lighting crews to move into the school building that they had just been filming outside of. The principal had agreed to have one of the classrooms emptied of students a few minutes early for the show's use so that filming wouldn't have any delays once classes were all over.

Kyoko decided that she would rest up in her dressing room for the break after seeing if she needed any makeup touch ups. So, Kyoko made the two minute walk back to the studio and approached her makeup artist, who told her that her makeup was holding out fine. Then, Kyoko moved into her dressing room where she plopped down gracelessly onto the small couch there.

What could she do for half an hour?

She didn't need to review the script. She didn't have that many lines. The scenes they would be filming now were short and sweet, without much dialogue. They were supposed to serve as a sort of montage to introduce the character of Saki, show how very normal a life she was leading, and oppose the carefree, fun loving, sweet disposition she gave off at school with the violent death that would begin the drama.

So what else was there to do?

She reached for the purse she had left in the room to see if she had been smart enough to pack a book or magazine. She opened the bag and began rifling through the contents - that was when her hand closed around the brown envelope that had been waiting on the doorstep of the Daruma-ya this morning when she had walked out to climb into Ren's car. Inside the envelope was a copy of Sho's new single.

Kyoko knew she should listen to it before going to the filming in three days. And she did have the free time now and nothing better to do. She might as well make the most of it and just get the task done.

She opened up the envelope and let the CD slide out onto her lap. It was in a simple case with one word written across the front cover: "Gone".

Kyoko had a CD player in her bag. She popped the music she had last listened to out of the machine, and slipped the new CD in. Then she shut the top, slipped on her headphones, and pressed play.

The gorgeous music that filled her ears had her breathless. The first time through she didn't even hear the words of the song because she was so entranced by the beautiful melody. She pressed play again when the song finished, and this time, she actually listened to the words as they started:

I didn't know when this all began  
That you were my light, the meaning before the end  
You were always there, forever shining  
It felt like my life was finally aligning

And then you were gone  
Gone from my life  
Out of my reach  
And out of my sight  
But I'm keeping hope  
You propel my heart on  
You're still my joy  
Even though you're gone

These days seem so bleak and grey  
You left my world empty, never thought I'd see that day  
I screwed up, I know I broke your heart  
But could you give us a chance? Let's restart

Because you're gone  
Gone from my life  
Out of my reach  
And out of my sight  
But I'm keeping hope  
You propel my heart on  
You're still my joy  
Even though you're gone

Why did you have to leave me?  
Why couldn't you first free me?  
Why did I have to lose you?  
I know my mistakes now, I'm going to make things right

I'm going to win your heart back  
I'll earn your trust from scratch  
I won't be stupid this time  
I'll never let you go, not without a fight

Because you were gone  
Gone from my life  
Out of my reach  
And out of my sight  
Now that you're back  
I won't let you go  
You're my baby, my angel  
My future is your's

Because you were gone  
Gone from my life  
I couldn't bear it  
It caused me such strife  
Now that you're back  
I won't let you go  
You're my baby, my angel  
My future is your's

Kyoko didn't like it, but the words touched her heart as overdone as the whole concept of the song was - boy doesn't appreciate girl until it's too late, boy recognizes his mistake, and then wants her back... and in this case gets her back. But combined with the beautiful, catchy melody... She already knew this song would be Sho's next number one. She pressed play again.

She was indulging in the song when she had a moment of insight.

"Oh hell no!" she yelled in a reflex reaction, her little grudges coming out in full force.

She had just realized what role she would be playing in Sho's music video and what it would surely entail.

* * *

Kyoko's yell echoed throughout the studio.

Or at least it echoed far enough down the hall that Ren was able to hear it from his dressing room. He had just arrived a few minutes ago and had been planning on going to visit Kyoko under the pretense of asking her how her scenes had gone - in reality, he just wanted to see her. He left his room and walked quickly down the hall to Kyoko's, where he knocked, waiting to be allowed entrance. He couldn't just walk in - she might be changing.

"Come in."

Her voice was weak, and Ren opened the door and immediately scanned the room for Kyoko, finding her curled up on the small couch. She had lost whatever anger had prompted her to yell. Now, she just looked pale.

He moved quickly to her side. "Kyoko-san? Are you alright?" he asked while he placed a hand on her forehead. But she wasn't warm. She was ice cold. Even Ren, clueless as he was about maladies, knew that meant she didn't have a fever. But what was wrong with her then?

"He set me up," she mumbled. "I mean, I expected him to have something planned... but not this."

"What are you talking about, Kyoko-san?" Ren asked her, trying his very best to interpret her words.

And then Kyoko's eyes landed on him and it was like she was just realizing that Ren was there. She blinked once, and then buried her head into the couch.

"I'm dumb. So dumb that I deserve this. It never even occurred to me... because seriously, what the hell is he thinking?" Kyoko's words were muffled by the couch cushion.

Ren was still confused. What "he" was she talking about?

"Kyoko-san?" he began again.

Kyoko didn't wait for him to finish his question. She lifted her head up and pointed miserably at the CD player on the floor. "Listen," she said, and buried her head again.

And so Ren listened.

And when he was done, he was not happy in the least. He was unhappy with Sho for his stupid song. He was unhappy with himself for not insisting that Kyoko not take the role. And he was very unhappy that Kyoko and Sho would undoubtedly be filming some sort of loving scene together for the end of the music video. Unless he managed to convince her to back out now. It couldn't be too hard right? Now that she actually knew what she would have to do...

"Kyoko-san," he began slowly, cautiously, worried that his words might upset her. "I know you said you weren't going to let Sho intimidate you, but you really don't have to take this role if you don't want to. You don't have to act out love with him."

And then Kyoko did the strangest thing. At least in Ren's opinion.

She laughed.

"What is love?" she asked. "I still don't know. Thanks to him. He pretty much shattered whatever ideas of love I had. Now... I still have no idea. So much time spent in the Love Me section and I'm still clueless..."

"I'm still going to do it," she suddenly told Ren. "I won't give Sho the satisfaction of seeing me quit. But more importantly, I definitely won't give up. I'm going to try to act out this role with all my heart... and I'll learn to act out love if I have to. Someone told me once that to become a true actor, I have to show many more people many kinds of acting, and that every opportunity matters and will help me polish my skills. And if I can learn to like a character I'll be playing opposite Sho, even if my character ultimately loves Sho, or his character, or whatever - then I've definitely improved."

Kyoko was always surprising Ren. This time though, her words weren't all that shocking. Ren knew the motivation Kyoko had to improve and succeed. She took on every task with her whole heart and didn't give up. It also comforted him that she had reinforced once again that her primary motive for doing this wasn't Sho. Obviously since it was Sho's music video, he affected her decision in some way - but ultimately, Kyoko was treating this like she would treat any other challenge.

"You'll be able to do it, Kyoko-san," Ren told her confidently, "as long as you put your mind to it and give it your full effort I'm sure you'll succeed."

"Thanks, Ren-san," Kyoko said. She was truly grateful for his faith in her... because she was lacking in faith in herself. Could she act out realistic portrayals of brokenheartedness and love? And more importantly, could she do it with Sho?

She started humming to herself as she mused. Then she smacked herself in the head.

"Stupid, actually decent, catchy song," she grumbled, shaking her head. She had been humming the music to Sho's single.

Ren just watched her and then laughed. She looked like she was trying to shake the memory of the song out of her head.

"What?" she asked, grumpily, still upset with herself for humming Sho's song of all things.

"It's nothing, Kyoko-san. Don't worry about it," Ren told her, a smile on his face as he was still amused by the brief scene he had just witnessed. Still, feelings of frustration and anger were simmering just under the surface of that smile.

He knew that Sho's song was about Kyoko and it upset him to no end. Apparently Sho was trying to win Kyoko back every bit as much as Ren was trying to prevent that from happening and win her heart himself.

Thankfully, Kyoko didn't realize the song was about her, or else surely this would not be her reaction.

But what would she do if she found out?

* * *

"_Saki-chan! Aren't you excited?"_

"_Sure," Saki said, looking at the girl sitting on top of the desk next to her's. Then after a second's pause she added,"What exactly am I excited for, Miki-chan?"_

"_The first day of school. The start of a new year. The chance to reinvent yourself. Take your pick!" Miki exclaimed._

"_One day you're going to spontaneously combust from overexcitement," Saki commented, earning a light smack from Miki._

"_Oh shut up!" Miki said through her laughter._

_Saki was laughing too._

"_Hey, Saki-chan!" a boy called out._

_Saki lifted her hand in greeting and offered him a smile._

_She didn't see the boy sitting in the back of the classroom. The one who was wearing a leather jacket over his uniform. The one who was staring at her._

_

* * *

_

_Saki was sitting at a table in the cafeteria._

"_How was your vacation, Saki-chan?" a girl sitting across from her asked._

"_Oh. It was good," Saki answered guardedly, turning her attention to her food._

"_What did you do?" another girl sitting with her asked._

"_Nothing special," Saki answered. "Some shopping, some relaxing. The usual."_

"_Oh, me too!" someone chimed in._

"_While I went to America," the first girl said._

_As everyone's attention turned to this girl, a tall, dark haired boy walked past their table, his gaze clearly fixed on Saki. No one noticed._

* * *

"That's a wrap. Good work everyone. I'll see you all here tomorrow," director Shingai announced when they nailed the last scene in one take.

Kyoko breathed in deeply and then let the air rush from her lungs. Next, she yanked the wig off her head and sighed happily. "So much better!" she exclaimed in relief.

The heating in the school building had been on the fritz - in that it was unable to be turned down - and her scalp had been getting progressively hotter under the wig with every minute they had spent inside the building. She hadn't complained once, but that didn't change the fact that it felt so good to get it off her head.

Everyone who was in the cafeteria with her laughed heartily at her actions.

* * *

"Kyoko-san?"

"Sorry. I'll be out in a second," Kyoko called out to Ren through the closed door of her dressing room. She was just slipping on her own shoes.

She moved to the door quickly after that and then opened it slowly, wary of hitting Ren in case he was badly stationed outside of it.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting," Kyoko said, bowing her head a little.

"It's no problem at all, Kyoko-san," Ren answered her, already turning to walk down the hallway and out to where his car was parked.

"Where's Yashiro-san?" Kyoko asked as they walked, suddenly noticing the absence of Ren's manager.

"Oh. He had to head back to the agency earlier to pick up some files and take care of a few things," Ren told her.

"He always seems to be doing something. Though I can definitely understand where the workload comes from. He is your manager after all," Kyoko mused.

"And what does that mean?"

"Oh. I meant nothing by that except that you have so many jobs and interviews and appearances that Yashiro has a lot to manage and keep track of," Kyoko was quick to explain.

"I guess he does," Ren said, smiling at her. And though the smile seemed genuine and innocent, it unnerved her - it made her heart beat inside her chest at a rapid pace.

'_Okay. He doesn't scare me anymore. That smile of his isn't the one that scares me. So what's going on?'_ she asked herself.

* * *

**Authoress' Notes:** **If you're on Twitter and you want to know projected update times, what I'm working on, or just what I'm up to, add me at lifebykristina.  
**


	7. Chapter 7: Braving the Woods

**Disclaimer: What does this word imply?**

**Authoress' Notes: Sorry I took so long after my exams finished to get this out. I was drained, stressing about my marks, and uninspired. I think my muse is back though.**

**This chapter goes out to you, all of my readers and reviewers. This story is on 114 people's alerts list, on 83 people's favs list, and has almost 10000 hits...all in a few short months. I'm so happy that you all enjoy it and I hope this chapter meets your expectations. And to Asukai101, whose review made me laugh, I have no intention of abandoning this story...I actually have a plan and everything! I'm so proud of myself =D. I just can't update as quickly sometimes because of other obligations. Like my exams that sucked up the last month of my life. But I should hopefully update more frequently now that I'm on Summer vacation.**

**And just to let you all know, I've had an idea for an original story, so that will take up some of my time this Summer - but I'm still dedicated to this fanfiction.**

**Kyoko's Fairytale is live in 3...2...1...ACTION!**

* * *

"Are you sure you can't come out for dinner, Kyoko-chan?"

"Sorry, Hikaru-san," Kyoko told him, shrugging into her sweater, "I have to be on set really early tomorrow so I really need to get home to get some sleep. I don't want to be getting sick."

"Bye, Kyoko-chan!" Yuusei called out while Shinichi patted Hikaru sympathetically on the head.

Kyoko waved goodbye to the Ishibashi boys, oblivious to Hikaru's sadness at her rejection, and then headed out of the building into the night, where she took a deep breath of the crisp, chilly air. She could see a few stars shining brightly in the sky between the tall buildings, and she thought it looked absolutely beautiful - but she couldn't enjoy it. Kyoko's mind was a mess because she was freaking out about being on set with Sho tomorrow.

She sighed loudly and went to get her bike from where she had parked it. Once she had unchained it, she hopped on and started pedalling for the Daruma-ya, all the while bothered by her thoughts.

Kyoko had been putting on a brave face since she had realized her role in Sho's music video, and at first she had believed that maybe she could handle it. Ren had seemed to have faith in her anyways, and she wasn't a quitter. But that night, when she had gone home to the Daruma-ya and thought some more about it, she had started freaking out. She couldn't handle playing a girl in love with Sho.

A girl who had broken up with him or was heart broken? Sure. That would be easier. She knew the sting of rejection and she knew how to be angry at someone. But if she had to shoot any scenes where she had to look like she was crazy for him...she didn't think she would be able to keep her composure, let alone put on a convincing performance - it would be too much a reminder of her past and with how scarred she was...it would probably look very forced and fake.

"Stupid jerk. This is all his fault," Kyoko mumbled under her breath as she approached her home. She wasn't going to back out now though. She meant what she had said to Ren about taking advantage of every opportunity and getting to love a character she had to play opposite Sho - even if it was only in a music video.

Finally, she was right around the corner from her destination, so she hit the brakes and hopped off her bicycle, opting to wheel it next to the restaurant, instead of riding it, to enjoy the extra moments in the night air.

It was when she was in front of the building next to the Daruma-ya that she finally noticed the man waiting outside the restaurant that was her home. He had been reading a magazine, but now he was looking right at her and watching her wheel her bike closer to the establishment. Kyoko felt a little nervous as she felt his eyes take her in, but she kept her mouth shut and focussed on the pole where she usually locked up her bike.

"Excuse me, miss. But would you happen to be Kyoko-san? The actress working in _Dark Moon _and _Box "R" _and who starred in the latest Kyurara commercial and Fuwa Sho's video for his song _Prisoner_?"

Kyoko looked at the man, who had moved from his position leaning against the restaurant wall and come a few feet closer to her. She took a second to scan him, from his polished shoes, to his very obvious toupee. He had the air of a business man, but she didn't think he was one.

"Who's asking?" she replied cautiously. She didn't think she was in any danger, but she was a young girl, alone at night, and even though she was right outside the Daruma-ya, where her first yell would bring the taisho running, it didn't hurt to practice being careful. "It's polite to give your name first before asking for someone else's, isn't it?" She was bordering on rude, but she was also right.

"Ah yes. It seems I must apologize for my rudeness. I am Harada Tsutomu, a journalist from _Celebrity Beat_. I stopped by here a couple of days ago and left my card with the okami of the establishment," he explained.

"Oh," Kyoko said slowly. She remembered the name of course - and that she had ripped up the card that he had left. Kyoko didn't feel inclined to talk to him, especially in light of her suspicions that he just wanted to try to get some dirt on Ren from her, but she couldn't be rude to his face. "Yes. I am Kyoko," she declared after a momentary pause, and then, "sorry I didn't call you." She bowed her head in apology quickly before straightening up.

"Oh, that's fine," Tsutomu chirped happily, waving his hand in the air as if to say "let bygones be bygones". "I just wanted to see if you would give me an interview," he continued.

"An interview?" Kyoko asked, her suspicions that he wanted to get dirt on Ren from her rising.

"Yes. I have a feeling that you're going to be very big in the business, Kyoko-san, and I would like to have the honour of being the first to profile you in a magazine."

It sounded a little less like he wanted information on Ren now, but Kyoko didn't think that stalking her home was the proper way for this man to get an interview with her - that was suspicious enough. Shouldn't he have called her agency and tried to make an appointment or something? What did it mean that he hadn't? And how did he know where she lived anyways? Kyoko wanted to become a recognized actress, and having a profile written up about her in a very well read magazine, even if it was trashy, would undoubtedly boost her popularity. Still, she felt like this was definitely something she should contact Sawara about.

"I'm sorry. I don't think I'm supposed to give any interviews without my manager's okay," she answered. "I'd be glad to give you my agency's information so you can contact him there and set up a date and time," she suggested politely. She would feel much more confident if Sawara okayed the interview and was with her while she gave it.

"It's alright. I already have LME's info. I was just in the neighbourhood and I thought I would take advantage of the opportunity," Tsutomu explained, heading away from the building and towards the sidewalk. "I hope that we'll meet again soon. I'll give your manager a call to arrange that interview," he said in farewell before waving to Kyoko and walking away.

Kyoko watched him for a bit, and then turned and walked into the Daruma-ya where she greeted the okami and taisho before heading to her room.

The entire encounter with the "journalist" had put her on edge, but it had taken her mind off of her job tomorrow. Now that she was inside and Harada Tsutomu was gone however, she was once again focussed solely on the next day. She tried not to think too much more about it and decided that some music would be a good distraction. She grabbed her CD player, put on her headphones and hit play.

That was a mistake. Kyoko hadn't taken Sho's CD out yet.

She grabbed her pillow, pulled it over her face, and screamed into it to vent some of her frustration.

* * *

The next morning, Kyoko was talking with Kanae on the phone while she waited for someone to come escort her from the lobby of the building she was in to the set for the video.

"Relax, Kyoko. You'll be fine," Kanae said.

"I'm going to screw it up, Moko," Kyoko said nervously. "It's hard to stay in control of my anger around him."

Kyoko had finally broken down last night and called Kanae to tell her all of her worries - she couldn't call Ren and risk disappointing him since he had said he had faith in her. But for Kanae to fully understand what was going on, it had required telling her friend all about what had happened with Sho in the past. If Kanae could be honest with her, she could be honest with Kanae.

It had been a very long conversation that had completely shocked Kanae. She had always thought that Kyoko was obsessed with Sho, but now that she had heard the truth, all of Kyoko's reactions to Sho and interactions with him made a lot more sense. Then, when her friend had asked for help, she had given her the only advice she could think of, which she repeated now.

"Kyoko, you're good at getting into character. Just do what you always do. When you're acting in the video, treat Sho like any other actor. So as soon as the camera starts rolling and you have to interact with him, it's not you interacting with the actor - it's your character interacting with his character...even if his character just happens to be himself," Kanae told her. "Remember, the girl you're playing doesn't hate Sho."

"You make it sound easy, Moko. I mean, I know that's what I have to do, but seeing him just makes me so mad sometimes. They haven't given me the sequence of scenes that we'll be acting out yet, but I'm sure that there's going to be some sort of scene where I need to act out love - how can I do that with him? Even if I get over the fact that it's me and Sho, I don't have a clue what love would look like," Kyoko explained quickly.

Kanae was silent on her end for a moment, speaking up again after a minute. She was about to step into what was, for her, an awkward conversation to hold.

"Kyoko, what do you like about us being friends?" Kanae asked hesitantly.

"Huh?" Kyoko responded, feeling very confused by the direction Kanae had taken.

"I said, "what do you like about us being friends"," Kanae repeated patiently - she couldn't get annoyed with Kyoko now, not when her friend was counting on her.

"It makes me very happy that we're friends," Kyoko got started, getting a sort of starry eyed look that luckily Kanae couldn't see - it may have freaked her out. And then Kyoko was going off: "I like that I can share things with you. I like that I can ask you for help and talk to you about my problems. I like having someone to get together with and have fun with. I like having someone who cares for me and trusts me. I like-"

"That's enough," Kanae cut Kyoko off - what her friend was saying was actually making her get a little teary eyed - something she would never show Kyoko. "All those things that you like about us being friends and how it makes you happy - just base your interpretation of love on that. The way you feel about me is not exactly how you'd feel about a boyfriend I'm sure, but it's a place to start. Someone you love would make you happy. You'd want to share things with them and spend time with them. You would feel comfortable with them and able to rely on them. You would know that they cared for you."

"You know that I'm no expert in love," Kanae continued awkwardly, but with purpose, "but it seems to me that love is a lot like friendship."

"Hello, Kyoko-san."

The voice that had just greeted her did not come from her phone. Kyoko looked up to see Sho's manager, Aki Shoko, standing in front of her.

"Thank-you so much, Moko - for everything," Kyoko said in a way that could only be described as heartfelt. "I have to go to set now. I'll give you a call later...if that's okay?"

"You can call me whenever you need me, Kyoko," Kanae said, responding to Kyoko's earnest thanks. And then she snapped back to herself and gave a more characteristic response, "Mo! Just don't call me every five seconds or you'll become annoying."

"Goodbye, Moko," Kyoko said happily before hanging up.

Kanae was pretty sure Kyoko hadn't even heard the second part of her response.

* * *

"So, how's the filming for your new drama been going?" Shoko asked Kyoko as the two walked together through the hallway to the set.

"Umm, it's been going well," Kyoko replied, looking at Shoko curiously. Shoko had posed her question almost nervously and was wringing her hands in front of her. "Is everything okay Shoko-san?" Kyoko asked after a moment's pause.

"What?" Shoko asked, startled out of the reverie she had been in. She had been thinking about how Kyoko was looking much happier than she had expected - she couldn't possibly know it was because of the conversation the girl had had with her best friend. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm just a little distracted."

"I know the feeling," Kyoko said sympathetically.

"Anyways, first we'll meet with Sho and Asami-san to discuss the concept of the music video and what we'll be filming. Then, you'll go to wardrobe, hair, and makeup," Shoko explained as they got closer to the set. She looked to see if Kyoko had any reaction to hearing Sho's name, but Kyoko was still walking down the hallway rather unfazed. "Have you listened to the song by the way?" Shoko asked.

The mentioning of the song had done what the mentioning of Sho's name had not - Kyoko now looked unhappy. "Yes," the young girl grumbled, her mind finally fully back on the task ahead.

"And what did you think?" Shoko asked. She knew she was pushing it, but she wanted to know if Kyoko had figured out that Sho's song was about her. Shoko herself had figured it out - how could she not when she worked with Sho every day and knew better than he did that he had feelings for Kyoko?

Kyoko grumbled something under her breath.

"What?" Shoko asked.

Kyoko sighed and then said out loud, reluctantly, "The song is actually pretty good."

"I know. Sho's been writing some great stuff ever since Karuizawa. I'm really proud of how far he's come," Shoko babbled, as they rounded a corner and came in sight of the set that had been constructed for the music video. She couldn't believe that Kyoko didn't have any other reaction to the song. Shoko could only conclude that Kyoko didn't realize Sho had written the song with her in mind or else surely she would be acting more...violently?

Kyoko meanwhile was taking the set in. There was a raised platform with two different rooms constructed on it - one clearly a girl's room, the other a guy's. The girl's room had a pale purple carpet and mostly white furniture. The walls were painted a deep purple and they were decorated with some generic pretty pictures. Over the bed, that was covered with a white bedspread, there was a corkboard with some pictures of Sho pinned to it from magazines, a picture of her and Kanae smiling together from the Kyurara commercial, Kanae's picture from her LME dossier, a picture of Kyoko dressed in her school uniform from _Box "R"_ with Chiori, Sudo Yuka, and Makino Honami, and more - it made it look like it was a teenage girl's room and on the board were pictures of her boyfriend, her friends, and herself.

The boy's room was much darker - with the walls painted a navy blue and the carpet matching. The furniture was all made out of a dark wood and the room was very sparsely decorated. Even the bed, decked in a navy comforter, had only one pillow on it compared to the six or seven on the girl's bed. The only noticeable decorations in the room were a guitar in one corner, a bunch of song sheets on the desk, and an empty silver picture frame sitting on a table next to the bed.

"Kyoko-san, it's good to see you again," a woman's voice called out.

Kyoko turned away from the set to look at Asami, who was clutching a clipboard to her chest.

"Hello, I'm very happy to be working with you again," Kyoko replied.

Asami thought the "you" came out with a little more emphasis, but she could have just been imagining things.

"I'd like to get started as quickly as possible since we have quite a bit of work ahead of us today. We need to get outside for a quick photo shoot and to film a few scenes before lunch already," Asami continued, getting down to business. She turned and started walking towards an open door. "If you would just follow me into the room we've set up right here then we can get to it," Asami said, motioning Kyoko into the room ahead of her.

The first thing Kyoko saw as she stepped through the doorway was Sho, sprawled out on a couch, apparently sleeping. He actually looked sort of peaceful, and Kyoko had the sudden thought that this might not be so bad. But then Asami and Shoko came into the room behind her and shut the door, startling Sho out of his sleep and breaking whatever spell had come over her.

"Finally," Sho yawned, "I've been waiting for hours."

How could she have thought for even a second that this might not be so bad. Sho was a first rate pain in the ass.

"It's been five minutes since I left you," Shoko said as if she were talking to a toddler.

"Whatever," Sho mumbled, sitting up straighter and crossing his arms over his chest. "Oh. You're here." Sho had finally noticed Kyoko standing in the room.

Kyoko ignored him and took a seat on the couch opposite his, Shoko sat next to her charge, and Asami took the seat next to Kyoko. A little table separated the two couches and Kyoko was thankful for it - it was a physical barrier separating her from Sho.

"I'll just get right into it then," Asami said after a minute passed and neither Sho nor Kyoko said anything. Actually, they were studiously ignoring one another which was surprising considering Sho's insistence that they hire Kyoko. Asami suddenly felt like the whole day was going to be a disaster, but she continued dutifully, knowing she had a job to do, "The story we're going to tell is of a couple in love, who break up and fall in love again. We're going to start with some fun, lovey scenes in the park behind the studio, and we're also going to need to get a cute picture of the two of you together for the picture frame on the desk in your room, Sho, and for the bulletin board in your room, Kyoko-san."

Still no reaction from either, Asami noted. So she kept going: "These scenes from the park are going to play as memories while the two of you wallow in your respective rooms, depressed since you have recently broken up. Kyoko, you'll also be angry at Sho, and Sho, you'll be angry at yourself for ruining your relationship. Eventually, Kyoko-san, you'll pick up a call from Sho, and then you'll meet him back at the park. He'll apologize for whatever happened, and at first you'll be reluctant to accept and you'll walk away. He'll call you back and he'll grab you and hold you close to him, whispering into your ear, and then you'll kiss when all is forgiven. And that's how it'll end."

That finally got a reaction.

"Kiss!" Kyoko exclaimed. Everything else that Asami had said was exactly the story Kyoko had been expecting given the song. But she hadn't expected a kiss. Clearly, she had been in denial and very, very wrong.

She couldn't kiss Sho again - even if it was only for the music video. It was just too...painful. Earlier in her life, she had always hoped her first kiss would be with Sho, and then he had stolen it from her in the most unromantic way possible when that was no longer what she wanted. Even if Ren had said it only counted if she decided it counted, that didn't change the fact that Sho had assaulted her lips.

"You have a problem with that Kyoko?" Sho scoffed. "It's not like we haven't kissed before."

This was news to both Asami and Shoko, whose mouths dropped wide open.

"That wasn't a kiss!" Kyoko hissed furiously, oblivious to the two women watching them with wide eyes. "That was an attack!"

"Well we have to kiss for the video to resolve correctly. So if you won't kiss me, we'll just have to get someone else," Sho said smugly. "I guess I'll see you later, Kyoko."

Kyoko was silent. She didn't want to be a quitter - but she really, really didn't want to kiss Sho again. Even if it would be for the job - and Ren had said that even if you hate the other party, you must treat it like a job and with a serious attitude.

She wanted to scream into a pillow like she had the night before. Instead, she glared at Sho. He was staring at her with a self-satisfied look, as if he wanted her to quit and was happy that he was succeeding. That was the final straw. She wanted to be a professional and expand her experience, and with Sho just daring her to back out - now there was no way she would say no. Even if she didn't want to kiss him, she would, and she would treat it like a job, nothing more.

"I'm not going anywhere. If we have to kiss, we have to kiss. It's part of the job and I'll treat it as such. Asami-san, could you please tell me where wardrobe is? I'd like to get ready so we can get started as soon as possible, just like you wanted."

"Out the door and to the left," Asami answered, still in shock.

"Thank-you," Kyoko said politely before opening the door and striding out of the room purposefully.

* * *

While Kyoko was getting ready in one room, Sho was getting dressed in a room nearby - and he was very happy with himself. He had known there was going to be a kissing scene. It was right after Asami had told him the plan that he had demanded they hire Kyoko. Not only would he get to kiss her again, possibly multiple times if he could screw up the takes, but he would also have the chance to act like a couple with her in their very first scenes this morning.

He would give her what she had always wanted and make her think all about her fantasies again. He was going to be the only man on her mind.

Plus, when Ren saw the video, it would piss off the actor. Sho smiled happily.

When they finished touching up his hair and face, Sho left his dressing room and went back to the room where they had discussed the shoot to relax on one of the couches. Surprisingly, only fifteen minutes later, he heard the door open again and was greeted with a beautiful sight. It took a lot of control for him not to drop his jaw and stare openly at the figure in the doorway like he wanted to do.

* * *

Kyoko had been surprised to learn that they weren't putting her in a wig, but then she realized that they wanted her to look like how she looked in the photos they had up on her corkboard. They had styled her hair so that she looked absolutely primped, and they had done her makeup so that it accentuated how lovely she was. Her hair and makeup matched the simple, casual, strapless, white dress she was wearing, that hugged her tightly until her hips, where it flared out and descended until her knees. She had a pair of white flip flops on her feet, that she was extremely thankful for, especially given how comfortable they were compared to all the heels she had had to wear of late. They had even given her a manicure with a matching pedicure.

The whole look had not taken much time, and she was already heading back to the meeting room. She had hoped that she might have some time to herself to try to fully get her composure back, maybe fire off a call to Kanae, but sadly, when she opened the door, she saw Sho already waiting. And even more disappointingly, he was looking good.

He was wearing jeans and a sleeveless, open, red shirt - much like the shirt he had worn when not in costume at the _Prisoner_ shoot. It was simple, but it's what Sho looked good in, and whoever was in charge of costumes knew that. He had a pair of black sandals on his feet and looked as casual as Kyoko did in her cute, summer dress.

Neither of them spoke. Finally, Kyoko was about to turn out of the room to go tell Asami they were both ready, when Sho's voice stopped her.

"Well, don't you look good."

She looked up and locked eyes with Sho. Her breath caught in her throat. For the first time in a long time, she didn't see any cruelty there. And she didn't know how to respond to that.

It was because Sho was stunned by how beautiful Kyoko looked that he had spoken at all. He had been determined to play the arrogant jerk until the scenes in the park just to add more fuel to the fire he figured was burning in Kyoko. But the sight of her in that white dress...it did him in, and before he knew it, his mouth was open and he was speaking, complimenting her. He was as shocked with himself as Kyoko was.

Kyoko was saved by Shoko, who came right then to fetch the two of them.

"Come on you two. We're going to take a golfcart into the park to get to where the camera's are set up," she told them.

They both followed behind Shoko in silence - one that was very uncharacteristic for Sho, Shoko thought. When they exited the building and reached the golf cart, Kyoko immediately sat in back, leaving the front seat for Sho.

"You know your place," he commented snidely as he took the seat next to Shoko.

And just like that, the mean Sho she was used to was back and Kyoko once again knew how to respond. "Please! I just knew you would whine if I sat up front and that's something I don't need to hear. I'm saving my poor ears," Kyoko quipped, pulling her cell phone from the small backpack she had brought with her. She had one new message.

Sho started saying something to her, but she held her hand out in front of her in the universal gesture for "back off a second" while she held her phone up to her ear with her other hand and listened attentively to her message.

"Kyoko-san," it began, and she immediately recognized Ren's warm voice. "I hope that everything is going well so far. I just wanted to remind you to focus on the spirit of the girl you'll be playing and not on who's acting opposite you. You'll do great. I have faith in you."

Kyoko smiled as she put away her phone, ignoring Sho's spluttering from in front of her. It was really nice that Ren was thinking about her enough to remember that today was the day she was filming with Sho. And his words, resembling Kanae's, made just as much sense to her ears. He still had faith in her and she wouldn't give him a reason to lose that faith. She would do her best and she would overcome this challenge - even if it meant kissing Sho.

* * *

**I know it's short, but it feels like a good place to end it. Hopefully I'll be back on track with the quick updating. I hope to have the next chapter up by this time next week.**


	8. Chapter 8: A Daunting Task

**Disclaimer: It's here.**

**Authoress' Notes: This time they'll be short. It wasn't as quick an update as I would have liked but I'm happy with how this chapter turned out. I hope you guys like the direction I took with Sho. I'm always happy to hear your opinions. We're at 100 reviews - and I say "we" because the success of this story is very much because of you guys, my readers. **

**Kyoko's Fairytale is live in 3...2...1...ACTION!**

* * *

"Who was that?" Sho asked as they drove along, and Kyoko could tell that he was irritated.

"A friend," she replied vaguely.

"What friend?" Sho demanded furiously.

"It's none of your business," Kyoko said, revelling in the angry red Sho's face was turning.

"We're here!" Shoko announced loudly and quickly, glad to have a legitimate reason to interrupt the two teens.

Kyoko hopped out of the golf cart lightly and headed over to where Asami was telling a few guys with camera equipment where to go. She waited quietly for the woman to finish giving her instructions before speaking up.

"Excuse me, Asami-san. I was hoping you could tell me what the first thing we'll be filming is so I can get into the right mind set," Kyoko said politely.

Asami glanced over Kyoko's shoulder and saw Sho and Shoko making their way over to join them. When all four of them were standing together, Asami spoke: "First we're going to film a bunch of scenes of the two of you having a fun date in the park. On the swings, having a picnic, chasing each other, walking together, cloud watching. Cute, couple stuff. We'll start with the swings."

Asami had decided on the first scene right when Kyoko had accepted the job. She figured Sho pushing Kyoko on a swing might not arouse any overly antagonistic reactions from either of them. She hoped she was right.

Kyoko nodded her head in acceptance and walked off to get into the character she had imagined. She tried valiantly to get in the head of the nameless girl she had created over the last few days, the one who liked Sho, the one who would be happy to be his girlfriend and playing with him in the park.

It wasn't working.

She glanced over at Sho and saw that he was relaxing in a director's chair with his name written across the back. She hated how easy a time he was having with this. Sho might not be an actor, but he was great at being a fake.

"Come on, Kyoko. You can do this," she murmured under her breath, trying to giver herself a little pep talk.

Last time, thinking of Kanae had worked like a charm...could she think of Kanae again? Would she look like she was with her boyfriend if she imagined she was hanging out with Kanae? Sadly, Kyoko didn't think so. It wouldn't really look like she loved Sho at all - more like he was just a friend. And there wasn't a guy she could imagine to give the right tone to her acting...or was there?

"Okay," Kyoko started, reasoning through it aloud, "When you play in a park, even as a teenager, you act like a kid - you find joy in simple things, you smile a lot, you have fun. And if you were there with your boyfriend, you would be especially happy to be with him, maybe a little in awe of him, and you would be able to have fun with him and smile with him...smile at him."

Kyoko thought back to when she was a child and tried to find someone in her memory who fit that description...and suddenly an image popped into her head. If she imagined she was with a brief childhood friend, a boy who she had cared for very much, a boy who had made her smile, a boy who had given her a precious gift - she could do it.

She could act like she was on a date in the park with Sho if she imagined she was back in Kyoto with Corn.

* * *

"We're ready to begin! Kyoko-san! Sho! Let's go!" Asami called out.

Sho climbed out of his chair and sauntered over to the swing set, seating himself on one of the swings to wait for Kyoko.

She was leaning against a tree nearby, her eyes closed, a small smile on her lips. And then suddenly, she straightened up, opened her eyes, and walked over to where he was sitting. The smile never left her.

When she reached the swing set, she took the swing next to him, kicking her legs a bit to get it moving.

"What do you want us to do, Asami-san?" Kyoko asked, still swinging. Sho thought she even sounded happy.

"Uh..." Asami began, momentarily stunned by the apparent happiness in Kyoko's voice. She had expected every scene to be a battle between the two teenagers. "Umm, right. Sho, you're going to push Kyoko-san on the swing, and I want you two to both just smile and laugh, look at each other...just act like a couple."

"Okay," Kyoko said pleasantly, and Sho just stared at her for a moment before shaking his head and going to stand behind her.

He really wished that he could know what was going on in her head. He had expected her to be angry or irritated with him, reluctant to continue, generally upset. She didn't seem to be any of those things.

Kyoko meanwhile was in her happy place. Right now, she was six again and about to be pushed on a swing by Corn, her fairy prince. A boy whom she had admired ardently and who had been able to make her smile and laugh.

"Action!" Asami's voice rang clear.

Sho started pushing Kyoko, who immediately started giggling as she swung back and forth, fully enjoying the experience - especially since in her mind it was Corn pushing a six year old her.

Sho didn't even have to act like he was having a good time. This moment reminded him of playing with Kyoko back when they were kids. And sure, he had been a spoiled brat even then, but he had still had fun with her.

As the camera rolled, Sho continued to push Kyoko who had a brilliant smile on her face. At one point, she looked back at Sho and reached out one of her hands towards him. Sho automatically grabbed it with one of his own and used his other hand to grab the swing and stop it so Kyoko's arm wouldn't get wrenched out of the socket.

Sho was shocked that Kyoko would actually reach out for him of her own volition - Asami had never instructed Kyoko to do that. He kept his smile on though, and if anything it got bigger...in his mind, he was succeeding, and Kyoko was already getting lost in her memories of him. He couldn't know that she didn't even see him there.

For Kyoko, it was Corn behind her. So when Sho stopped the swing, her one hand in his, she leaned back into him and closed her eyes, feeling the protective embrace of her fairy prince. She didn't see Sho looking down at her, awe struck by her peaceful appearance.

"And cut!"

Asami's voice brought Kyoko back to reality in a violent way. She knew that it was Sho behind her, and she jumped from the swing and took a few steps forward.

Shoko, who had watched the entire seen with rapt attention, relaxed when she saw Kyoko acting normally. The pretty scene had stunned her - it looked so natural and easy, like the two didn't need to try at all to be civil with each other. It had been eery. To see Kyoko jumping away from Sho in a typical fashion somehow oddly soothed the woman and brought her back from the edge she didn't know she had been waiting on with bated breath.

"That was perfect, and we have more than enough footage. Good work you two," Asami declared, revelling in how well the first scene of the day had gone. She started praying that it was an indication of how well the rest of the day would go. "Now let's set the cameras up so they're pointing towards the climbing equipment people. And do it quickly!" she continued. She didn't want to give Sho and Kyoko a chance to get worked up with one another. She wanted to keep whatever magic had brought her that perfect, cute scene going for the rest of the day.

Asami was already involved in directing the cameramen in their setup, so Kyoko decided to go sit in the director's chair that had been brought out for her. Sadly, it was next to Sho's, and he came to join her a mere moment later.

"You looked like you were having a good time," Sho commented, not entirely unfriendly.

"It's called acting," Kyoko quipped back, shutting her eyes and trying to relax a little.

"So you reached for my hand because?" Sho asked smugly.

Kyoko was easily angered by his tone. It grated on her nerves and bugged her to no end. It was the same tone he had taken when he had told Shoko that he had only taken her to Tokyo with him to play maid.

"Because I'm good at knowing when and what to improvise. The best actors are," she answered sharply.

"Really? Because I thought you were just enjoying my company," Sho continued, watching her intently, trying to gage her reactions.

Kyoko twitched.

"You're kidding me. Right?" Kyoko asked, opening her eyes and staring at Sho. "Me? Enjoying your company?" She laughed.

"And now you're on the defensive. See? I'm right!" Sho said confidently. "You can't get enough of me."

"It's not even lunch time and I've had more than enough of you to last me the rest of my life," Kyoko mumbled, turning her head away from Sho. She would have dragged her chair away from his if it wasn't an incredibly childish thing to do. As it was, she was poised on the edge of her seat, ready to make a break for it.

Sho didn't have anything to say in response to Kyoko's comment, so he started searching for something else he could say. That was when he heard the buzzing sound near his feet. He looked down and saw Kyoko's backpack shaking on the ground, propped next to her chair.

"Are you going to get that?" he asked, the sound of the vibrating phone starting to get on his nerves.

Kyoko, who had been wrapped up in her decision whether or not to hop from her chair and run, shook her head as she processed Sho's words. Then she hopped off the tall chair and opened up the pocket she had tucked her cell phone in earlier after listening to her message from Ren, answering the call just as quickly.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Kyoko-chan! I was just calling to see how everything was going for you today."

Kyoko recognized Sawara's voice and immediately felt cheered again. Even if he was for all purposes her manager, he also managed a department at LME - he didn't need to call her, but he did. He was always checking up on her, always excited when another opportunity opened up for her, and was always worried about her.

"We only just started filming, but so far things are going fine. We should have no problems finishing everything today on schedule," she replied happily, actually believing the words she spoke after her success in the first scene. She was going to be optimistic she decided - it could only help her.

"That's great news!" Sawara said enthusiastically. Then his voice lost the cheery tone: "I also have some...other news. I received a call early this morning from a Harada Tsutomu. Do you know who that is?"

"Yes," Kyoko started, having noticed the change in Sawara's voice, "he approached me asking for an interview for _Celebrity Beat_. I told him to call you."

She heard Sawara sigh in relief. "Good," he said after he had exhaled. "If something like that ever happens again you should do the same thing."

Kyoko was confused. "Can I ask why that's good?"

"Harada Tsutomu likes to embarrass celebrities, make them look bad, and make their lives difficult. There are others like him. LME knows what journalists and talk show hosts we can trust to work with us, so you should always make sure that I approve of any interviews you're asked to give," Sawara explained.

"Oh." It was an "oh" laden with the weight of the cogs turning in Kyoko's mind. The press was something completely new to her. Navigating journalists and tv show hosts was something she would have to learn just as she was learning to act.

"Don't worry, Kyoko-chan. You have all of LME behind you, and you have me to deal with things like this. Go finish your job. We'll talk later."

"Okay, Sawara-san. Goodbye," Kyoko told the man before hanging up.

The conversation had been short but enlightening. Kyoko was glad to know though that she had done the right thing according to Sawara and that he seemed to be very pleased with her and her behaviour.

"Who was that?"

It might have only been the second time that he had asked her that today, but Kyoko was really starting to get tired of that question.

"Once again, it's none of your business," Kyoko told Sho, bending down to put the phone back in her bag. When she straightened, she contemplated getting back on her chair, but decided against it, opting to head back towards the swing set and take a seat there.

She started pumping her legs, allowing the swing to carry her higher and higher until she had reached the limit. Then she stopped moving her legs and let the momentum of the swing carry her backwards and forwards.

As the swing finally slowed down to a near stop, Kyoko took notice of the woman who had moved to stand in front of her.

"You can sit down next to me if you'd like," Kyoko said warmly, looking up.

Shoko blushed. "If you're sure," she murmured, taking the swing next to Kyoko's.

Shoko began to kick her legs back and forth a little to get the swing moving the bare minimum and Kyoko did the same.

"I'm sorry," Shoko finally said.

"For what?" Kyoko asked confusedly glancing next to her to see that Shoko looked truly sorry.

"For Sho," Shoko replied quietly. Having learned that Sho had kissed Kyoko without the girl's permission, she felt like she had to say something - Shoko could definitely understand how that would hurt.

"He's not your responsibility," Kyoko quickly responded. Then she remembered that Shoko was Sho's manager. It was Kyoko's turn to blush. "I mean, he is your charge, but you can't control what he says and what he does. You can't change his personality and the way he treats people. What he did to me...what he does to me...none of it's your fault."

Shoko didn't say anything for a second. "Still. I'm his manager. I can't help but feel a little bit responsible for how he's acting."

"Shoko-san, not even his parents could control him, or else he wouldn't be here right now," Kyoko replied.

Shoko pondered that before she opened her mouth again and spoke hesitantly. It was a question she had been wondering about for a while now. "Kyoko-san? Do you wish that Sho's parents had been able to control him? That they had stopped him from leaving for Tokyo? Everything would be so different now."

Kyoko had asked herself the same question. Did she wish that Sho had never left for Tokyo? If he hadn't, she would never have had to stop going to school, she would have continued to work at the Fuwa's ryokan, eventually Sho's parents would have pressured him to marry her - and she would have been happy enough having known nothing else. But if all that had happened, she wouldn't have seen what a jerk Sho could be, she would never have met any of the wonderful people she had worked with, the okami and taisho of the Daruma-ya, Kanae, Maria, Ren, Yashiro, Chiori, Lory, Sawara, and Kuu, she would never have found a love and talent for acting, she would never have felt so free to choose her own path in life.

"No. I don't," Kyoko said softly. "Before I came to Tokyo, my life was scripted for me. I would have ended up working at the Fuwa's ryokan because there was no where else I could go. I would never have realized that I loved acting, I would never have had the opportunities I have now, and I would never have met the wonderful people I know now."

"I mean, the way it all happened wasn't exactly painless," Kyoko continued with a little laugh, "but the fact is that I'm happier now than I was back in Kyoto."

"You never cease to amaze me, Kyoko-san," Shoko commented, bringing her swing to a stop.

"I hope that's a good thing," Kyoko said, a smile coming back to her face.

"It is. I should go see if Sho needs anything. I'll see you later," Shoko spoke as she stood up, leaving Kyoko alone again.

Kyoko sighed. She couldn't believe that it wasn't even lunch yet. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Wow."

Kyoko had to agree with the sentiment. They were sitting outside around a computer, watching the scenes they had filmed that morning in playback. Kyoko's strategy had worked. She had thought of Corn, the only boy she could think to imagine in place of Sho, and they had actually managed to film each scene in one take.

First, she saw herself running from Sho and laughing as he chased her, trying to get away by climbing up a ladder that was part of the climbing structure in the park. Sho grabbed her off of it by the waist though before she could reach the top and spun her around before putting her gently on the ground.

Then, Kyoko saw herself sitting on a blanket with Sho, two bento boxes in front of them. She was holding an egg roll (one that was not sweet of course) up to Sho's face and shoving it into his mouth as he went to take a bite. While he chewed, he picked up some rice from his box and tossed it lightly at Kyoko who swatted at him and took his bento box out of his reach while Sho pouted.

Next, she watched as her and Sho walked hand in hand under the sakura trees that had just started blooming in the park, shooting glances at one another. And finally, she watched the last scene they had shot of her and Sho. They were lying next to each other, on the same blanket that had been used for the picnic scene, staring up at the clouds. At one point, Sho rolled up on his side and was watching Kyoko instead, who appeared to be oblivious to it as she kept her gaze fixed on the sky. When Sho stretched out his hand and grabbed her's, she just grabbed his and kept her eyes facing upwards, a small smile on her lips.

These scenes had been a lot more difficult for her to film, despite thinking of Corn. The swing scene had been something childish - easy to imagine her childhood friend in. As the scenes began to be more tinged with romance, she had started imagining Corn, the fairy prince, as the prince in her childhood fantasies and her as the princess. It had worked better than she could have hoped - she had spent a lot of time fantasizing as a kid. The scenes had come naturally enough and easily - and had apparently turned out wonderfully if Asami's appreciative muttering was anything.

"Fabulous. Just fabulous. We're ahead of schedule and we just have to take a few pictures before we can break for lunch. Good work Kyoko-san, Sho," Asami said as the playback finished. Kyoko thought that the director sounded relieved.

In fact, Asami was very relieved. She had expected disaster, but she had forgotten how good Kyoko was when she was able to keep her focus. And Sho had just gone along with Kyoko without trying to bug her or anything. It had been better than the best morning Asami could have hoped for.

"We'll use the natural lighting back by the sakura trees for the pictures. We just need to get one good shot of the two of you together," Asami said, already walking away to grab the photographer.

"Come on, Sho. Let's just get this done," Kyoko said, walking towards the sakura trees that were visible from where they had been sitting.

Sho actually started walking with her without complaint.

"So. I saw you with Shoko earlier. What were you two talking about?" he asked.

Kyoko was surprised that he wasn't demanding it of her. But then again, he could just as easily ask Shoko. And Shoko would tell him to keep him happy.

"She asked me if I wished that you hadn't left for Tokyo," Kyoko told him, looking down. She wouldn't have told Shoko if it was something she felt like she had to hide. Now she watched Sho out of the corner of her eye. She wanted to see what reaction he would have.

Sho stilled momentarily, but then started walking normally. His face maintained a somehow stunned yet thoughtful expression though. He had wondered the same thing himself sometimes when he thought about Kyoko. How could he not? And of course he could only think that she did wish that he had never left Kyoto. Or at least that he had not asked her to come with him or that she had not accepted.

"And what did you say?" he asked quietly.

"I said that I didn't. Wish that I mean. As..." and she searched for a word that wouldn't sound angry since the conversation wasn't antagonistic so far and she didn't want to make it so. "As uncomfortable as the push towards my future was, I'm very happy with how things are now. I've found I love acting, I'm making friends, I have people who care about me, and I have a chance to make my own future."

Sho was quiet.

He had started off this day cocky, planning to weasel himself into Kyoko's thoughts, especially to keep Ren out of them. But as the morning had gone on and the two of them had completed the fun scenes, he found himself remembering and missing their childhood and the time when they had first come to Tokyo. And then he found himself thinking of her in more than a possessive sense. He started thinking that he didn't want her just to be devoted to hating him or to loving him once again. He wanted this animated, opinionated, successful, confident, caring Kyoko to be a part of his life. This morning had actually been enjoyable... And as long as he was being honest with himself, he had to admit that he wanted her in his life.

"We're ready for you two," Asami called out from underneath a sakura tree with particularly low hanging branches. The pink blossoms came down as far as Kyoko's waist. "Sho, you're going to stand behind Kyoko-san with your arms around her. Kyoko-san, I want you to place your hands overtop of Sho's. Just look straight at the camera and smile happily, like you guys were walking together and asked someone passing by to take your picture by the tree."

Kyoko said nothing as she walked over to the point Asami indicated. She tried to relax as she felt Sho come up behind her and wrap his arms around her stomach. She crossed her arms and held them low, so they settled over Sho's. Then she made herself think she was in the safe embrace of her fairy prince and smiled for the camera.

As the camera clicked away, Sho decided he was going to ask Shoko to get him a copy of the photo.

* * *

"Hey, Moko. It's me, Kyoko. I just wanted to let you know that this morning went okay. I managed well enough - the director was really happy anyways and we did everything in one take...which is good, you know, for my sanity. Anyways, my lunch break is almost over and they're going to shoot some scenes of just me. I hope your day is going great. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

Kyoko hung up, having finished recording her message for Kanae. She still had another few minutes before Asami wanted her on set and she debated calling Ren to thank him for thinking of her and his message earlier. She had the time - she was already dressed and made up for her individual scenes. Black flats, dark wash skinny jeans, and a black tanktop made up her outfit, her makeup had been left the same, and they had put a dark purple headband with a bow on it in her hair.

Even though it was a Saturday, Ren was even busier than her, and she doubted that he would be able to answer his phone right now. She would just leave a quick message.

That decided, she went through her contact list and pulled up Ren's number, hitting call. She waited as the phone rang, expecting the answering machine to pick up any second. And then...

"Hello?"

"Uh...hi, Ren-san," Kyoko mumbled, her cheeks picking up a blush. Now that she was actually speaking with him, it seemed silly to call him to thank him for calling her.

"Kyoko-san." Kyoko couldn't see the big smile that had lit up Ren's face, but she could hear the kindness in his voice and she didn't feel quite as silly as she had a few seconds ago.

"I was just calling to thank you for calling earlier and remembering that I was filming today," she said. "I thought I would just leave a message, I didn't expect you to be by your phone," she started babbling, unsure what else to say.

"You're very welcome," Ren said and Kyoko relaxed even more. He didn't sound at all like he was making fun of her. In fact, he seemed genuinely happy that she had called.

"So how did this morning's work go?" he asked before Kyoko could say anything else.

"I didn't try to kill him and I didn't screw up, so I consider that a success," Kyoko replied honestly.

Ren laughed. "That sounds like a success to me."

"Yeah, well, we still have the afternoon and evening ahead so I won't start counting my chickens yet. There could still be a homicide," Kyoko continued happily. This conversation with Ren was just lifting her spirits and she couldn't even explain why.

"As long as you don't screw up I think everyone will forgive the homicide," Ren teased.

"Of course," Kyoko laughed.

"Kyoko-san, we're ready for you on set."

That voice was not from her phone.

"Umm," she started to say into the phone, but Ren's laughter interrupted her.

"I heard that. I'll let you go. I'll talk to you later, Kyoko-san," Ren said.

"Bye, Ren-san," Kyoko said before hanging up.

When she strolled onto set a minute later, she was still wearing her smile.

* * *

Sho watched from a chair parked next to Asami's as the woman directed a series of short scenes that Kyoko acted out perfectly.

First, Kyoko lay on the bed staring blankly at the ceiling. Then, they had her pick up a phone, one that was buzzing and lighting up and moving around on the night stand next to the bed, look at the caller ID, and toss it into a corner. Next, they had her contemplate the board above the bed and then rip down the photos of Sho that were there, balling them up and tossing them in the general vicinity of a trash can. Then, they had her rip down the photo of her and Sho together and tear it up into little pieces, letting them fall to her bed and the ground without care.

Sho thought Kyoko might have taken a certain glee in those last two scenes.

They proceeded to shoot another thirty seconds of her just lying in bed. Then her checking the ringing phone again and putting it down on the table.

Finally, they had her sit up, clutching one of the many pillows on the bed to her chest, and stare at the wall, tears running down her face. Asami had offered Kyoko some eye drops to help her cry, but Kyoko had said she would be fine, and sure enough, moments later, tears were leaking from Kyoko's eyes.

Sho wondered what she was thinking about.

* * *

For Kyoko, the tears came easily. She thought about losing Kanae's friendship and her eyes welled up.

When Asami was sure they had enough footage of that, they shot Kyoko's last scene in her room. Someone called the phone on her night table again and it started buzzing and moving around. Kyoko picked it up, held it in her hands, and finally answered it, saying hello so that the act would still look natural when they removed the audio and put Sho's track overtop all the scenes.

"And we're done. Thanks, Kyoko-san. That went great. I think we even have time to get all of Sho's scenes done before the sun sets. Then we can move out to the little bridge over the small lake in the park," Asami said. "Anyways, you're free to relax for a while Kyoko-san. Sho has quite a few more scenes than you to film, and they'll take a little longer since we have to make sure the scenes where he's playing guitar and singing match the speed of the track exactly. Just don't wander too far. As soon as it's dark enough, we'll head outside to film your last scenes, and then you'll be free to go."

"Thanks, Asami-san," Kyoko murmured, suddenly feeling exhausted. She decided to go take a nap in the room where the couches were. Nothing could be more relaxing than a nap. Right?


	9. Chapter 9: Through the Woods

**Disclaimer: The word implies it.**

**Authoress' Notes: I'll keep it short and sweet. This is the last music video chapter. Yay! We finally move on with the story. What will happen in the future? I know. Do you? Sorry updates aren't as frequent as you or I would like...but it's a lot harder to write in the Summer than I thought. I have so much to do! By the way...no updates in July. I'm working at a Summer camp then without internet access :(**

**We now return to Kyoko's Fairytale in 3...2...1...ACTION!**

* * *

"Kyoko-chan, you've been paying attention to everything we do here haven't you?"

Kyoko looked around, surprised to find herself back at the Fuwa's ryokan, Sho's mother in front of her.

This was not where she was supposed to be. Right? Right now, she was supposed to be sprawled out on a couch at the studio where she was filming. Wasn't she? Was this just a dream then, one that she was painfully aware of?

She looked back at Sho's mother and saw that the woman was staring at her with undisguised concern for Kyoko's lack of response in her eyes.

Kyoko nodded her head. "Yes," she answered quietly to put the woman who had taken care of her for so long at ease.

Sho's mother visibly relaxed. "Good, because one day, when you're married to Sho, you'll be helping to manage it," the older woman continued unashamedly, winking at Kyoko.

Kyoko couldn't contain her gasp. This was the future she would have had if she had never left Kyoto - but Kyoko was in control of her own future now. She knew, at least partially, what she really wanted out of life. She knew what she didn't want anyways.

"I don't want to marry Sho!" she exclaimed, and Sho's mother's face took on a look of surprise.

"But Kyoko, isn't that what you always dreamed of?"

"Yes," Kyoko answered honestly, "but I don't want it anymore...I can't want it anymore. I want to be an actress in Tokyo, not the okami of a ryokan, not Sho's wife."

And with that, the ryokan and Sho's mother faded and Kyoko was left in a black void, all alone.

"You aspire to be an actress? What a chancy "career". What a way to waste your life," a contempt filled voice sneered from the shadows, and Kyoko recognized it as her mother's.

"It's not a waste," Kyoko insisted, pleading with her faceless mom.

But she was also trying to convince herself. This wasn't all a waste. She was good. She was getting better. She loved this and it was something she didn't mind working towards. She may never be as successful as Ren, but that didn't matter as long as she could continue acting.

She started to feel incredibly alone in the dark of her dreamworld and she wanted nothing more than to wake up from this nightmare.

* * *

Kyoko's face glistened with a thin layer of sweat, and the clothes she wore were rumpled from tossing and turning on the couch. Her bag, on the ground by her head, was buzzing again, and the soft noise had awoken her from her terrible dream. Kyoko lay, breathing heavily for a moment, trying to recover enough composure to answer her ringing phone.

She absentmindedly noted that she had made and received a lot more calls than usual today as she made herself pull out her phone, answering it immediately in case it had already been ringing for a while before she had woken up and noticed it.

"Hello?" Her voice was a little raspy from her ragged breathing.

"Kyoko-san? Are you alright?"

She could always trust Ren to detect when she was not entirely okay. Even when she didn't want him to notice.

"I'm fine. I was just taking a little nap and the phone woke me up," Kyoko covered. Having woken up from sleep could explain away her voice and Ren couldn't see how visibly upset she was over the phone.

"I'm sorry, Kyoko-san," Ren spoke, but Kyoko interrupted his apology.

"No need to apologize. It's already been," and she glanced at the clock on the wall, "two and a half hours. Wow. I should be getting up anyways. Sho's scenes should be wrapping up by now if they're not already done, and I'll need to get back to work soon so we can finish up."

"So you're almost done?" Ren asked.

"Sort of," Kyoko answered. "It depends on how many scenes Asami's divided the last portion of the video into, and if they can get all the angles they want in one take without getting the cameras and crew in the shots like they did this morning."

"Well, I'll be wrapping up for the day soon as well, and I was wondering if maybe you'd like a ride. I believe the studio you're at is on my route home, so it won't even take me out of my way. And we can stop for dinner and you can make sure I eat properly," Ren suggested.

Unlike Hikaru, Ren had his timing on his side, and he knew how to best appeal to Kyoko to get her to consider saying yes.

"Umm, that sounds good I guess. Though I wouldn't want to keep you waiting if you finish earlier than I do," Kyoko murmured.

"Nonsense. If I finish before you I'll simply wait for you. What are friends for?" he asked her.

Kyoko gasped before she could stop herself.

"Kyoko-san, what's wrong?" Ren asked, his deep concern permeating his voice.

Friend. Kyoko had never heard him use that word before in reference to their relationship. Sure, she had started thinking of him as a friend, even referring to him as such when she had wanted to irritate Sho earlier. Still, they had never addressed each other like that...and it was nice.

"Nothing's wrong," Kyoko said, regaining her composure. "If you really don't mind coming to get me, I'd be really grateful for the ride."

"Then it's settled. I'll come by when I'm done," he said, satisfied that he had a pseudo dinner date with Kyoko officially lined up for that evening.

"Thanks, Ren-san," Kyoko said, and then the two of them hung up after Ren confirmed the building's address with Kyoko and she mentioned to him that they may be in the park in back instead of inside.

As Kyoko put her phone down, she smiled in her happiness. Ren was her friend. He had said so himself. And she was elated. Her friendships meant the world to her.

But without the distraction of Ren, her mind drifted back to the horrible dream Ren had unknowingly saved her from. It was as if all her worst memories had come together and melted into one horrible episode in her exhaustion - a little bit of her mother's disdain mixed with a marriage to Sho, with a pinch of being unable to choose her future, and a dash of fear for the success of her current path.

None of that was her reality though. She no longer lived in Kyoto with the Fuwa's, and would never live there again. She would never marry Sho. She would likely never see her mother again. She had already chosen her own future. She had already experienced some success in her choice of career. Her nightmare was just a manifestation of all the shadows that hung over her past, present, and future.

She was saved from her thoughts by the opening door.

"Ah, Kyoko-san," Shoko said as she popped her head into the room. "Asami-san wanted me to let you know that they've finished Sho's scenes and that she'd like for you to go get ready for the last bit of filming."

"Thanks for letting me know, Shoko-san," Kyoko answered standing up. She was suddenly very eager for this day to be done. It had taken a lot out of her emotionally - her dream was proof of that.

"Ah, no problem," Shoko muttered as she watched Kyoko stroll out of the room. She thought that Kyoko looked exhausted.

* * *

Kyoko was wearing the same dark jeans, flats, and black tank top she had worn earlier, but with a fitted, white, zip up sweater over top. The purple headband had been removed from her hair, and it had been styled again, this time into two short braids on either side of her head. Also, her makeup had been touched up, and looking in the mirror, Kyoko thought that she looked even lovelier than she had this morning.

As soon as Kyoko was ready, Shoko drove her over to the bridge in the golfcart. Sho was already waiting, having needed less touch-ups than Kyoko.

"Took you long enough," he commented as she stepped out of the golfcart. Then Sho saw how cute she looked and he shut his mouth.

Kyoko didn't deign Sho's comment worthy of a response.

"Good, good. Now you're both here and we can finish up. We're going to try to film this last bit as one fluid scene considering how well everything else has gone so far. If that doesn't work, we'll break it down into smaller scenes. There will be three cameras centred on you to get all the angles we need," Asami explained as she appeared out of nowhere.

Sho huffed and Kyoko shot him a glare as they waited and listened to Asami's further instructions in silence. When Asami was done, Kyoko gulped as she walked away from Sho to take her mark on the centre of the bridge where she would await Sho's approach. She was silently panicking about the kiss her and Sho would have to share in a mere minute's time as the long scene wound down. Her own theory was that she would freak out and ruin the scene time after time until everyone got really frustrated with her.

She waited with dread for Asami to call the magic word that would start the scene. She didn't think that her imagination was enough to help her get through it this time, but she would try her best regardless - and it helped that it looked like she was standing in a fairytale anyways. The lights on the bridge were all illuminated, the moon, high in the early evening sky, was already glowing brightly and bathing the small lake and bridge in its ethereal light, and the trees around the water, in the start of their spring bloom, added to the utter peace of the picture.

"Action!" Asami's voice rang out, and Kyoko turned to lean on the bridge's railing to look out at the moon's reflection on the water's surface.

She heard Sho's footsteps as he approached her slowly, hands undoubtedly in his pockets. When she heard the steps stop, she turned to look in the direction he had come from, and saw him, eyes downcast, hands indeed in his pockets, a mere few feet away from him.

"Well," she said expectantly, her eyes holding a mixture of the heartbreak she had felt when she had learned Corn had to leave her and the anger she had felt when she had learned of Sho's betrayal.

"I'm sorry," Sho said from his spot, finally looking up at her. The words were all too clear in the way his lips moved and the way he held himself. His eyes spoke volumes, filled with desperation and loneliness as they were.

Kyoko was taken aback, but she used that to fuel her next action. She took a few steps backwards, away from him, suddenly looking cautious, tired and sad. She was wary of Sho as she almost always was now, she was exhausted after her long, emotional day, and she was saddened as she remembered parting with her fairy prince.

"I can't. I just can't," she muttered as she shook her head and held her hands out defensively in front of her. Then she turned away from Sho and made as if to leave him.

Sho took a few quick steps and came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close to his body.

"Please. Please. I'm sorry," he murmured into her ear.

Kyoko froze as she heard Sho choke on his words. Then she felt a tear fall onto her head.

Sho wasn't this good of an actor. Sure, he was manipulative. Sure, he could put on a persona. But cry like this, sound as heartbroken as this - he wasn't capable unless he was drawing from some real life experience.

'_What could it be?' _Kyoko wondered.

But even as she was pondering this, she couldn't help but be moved a little by his tears and his choked up voice. She gently pulled enough away from him so that she could turn around and face him in his embrace. The pain in his eyes made her uncomfortable. Why? Why could he still affect her when she was so unhappy with him and the way he had treated her?

As Asami had told her to do, she slowly brought her arms up and wrapped them around Sho, leaning her head against his chest. Kyoko felt herself stiffening up with how awkward the situation was and she immediately made herself think of Corn. She was hugging Corn, she was in Corn's warm embrace. She felt herself relax.

A few seconds had passed since she had lifted her arms to embrace Sho. Now she needed to continue to follow Asami's instructions. She pulled her head back and looked up at Sho...Corn.

"Okay," she said, not breaking eye contact.

And now came the part she dreaded. She couldn't allow herself to tense up as her body automatically wanted to do. It would ruin the take. Sho was already leaning forward, intent on capturing her lips with his.

'_Imagine this is a kiss with your fairy prince. Imagine this is a kiss with your fairy prince,'_ Kyoko repeated her mantra over and over in her head.

A second had yet to pass, and yet Sho's lips were already but an inch from her's. She let her eyes close and tried to focus on staying relaxed and imagining her prince.

'_Imagine this is a kiss with your fairy prince.'_

* * *

As Sho's lips captured her's, Kyoko responded by sliding her arms up around his neck. Sho took this as positive encouragement and wrapped his arms even tighter around her waist, pulling her as close as their two bodies would allow. He wanted to deepen the kiss, but didn't dare, knowing that would upset Kyoko even more - and the point now wasn't to aggravate and alienate her, but to win her over.

After what felt like forever to Sho, he heard Asami yell.

"Cut!"

* * *

As soon as Kyoko heard the magic word, she wrenched herself out of Sho's grasp and took a few steps back, pulling the back of her hand across her mouth.

"Perfect!" Kyoko heard Asami's voice echoing out again. "We're just going to review this footage and make sure that we have everything we need, and then you'll both be free to go. I imagine that we're done though."

"Good," Kyoko declared to no one in particular, storming past Sho and off the bridge to where the golfcart was. She climbed into the backseat and pulled her knees up to her chest where she could easily hug them.

She was in shock.

Not because she had kissed Sho - and done it so easily and calmly - but because of who had popped into her head when his lips had touched her's. It was supposed to be a grown up Corn - her very image of Prince Charming. But no. Instead it had been...

"Ren," she muttered under her breath, a deep blush coming to her cheeks.

Why had she imagined Ren? And why, when imagining Ren, was she able to kiss the man in front of her? She couldn't understand it and she was becoming very seriously confused...

"Kyoko-san?"

She knew that voice.

She looked up from the spot on the floor of the golfcart that she had been staring at fixedly.

"Hello, Ren-san," she said, plastering a big smile on her face.

Why did she feel nervous? Why could she feel the blush on her cheeks deepening? Why was her heart racing?

"Are you okay, Kyoko-san?" he asked, squatting down so that he was at her level.

Kyoko knew that Ren would never believe that she was fine since he could see her flushed face and her very fake smile. She couldn't possibly tell him what was actually wrong with her though. That conversation would be absolutely mortifying! Instead she thought of a simple story, that wasn't entirely a lie.

"Not really. I'm just so tired after the long day, especially considering the last scene I just had to shoot. I hated it, but we finished it in one take, and Asami-san sounded very happy with how it turned out. I'm just glad to finally be done," Kyoko explained. It was the truth.

"Then I guess I have perfect timing. Are you free to leave yet?" Ren asked, looking at what he now noticed was a truly exhausted Kyoko.

"Almost. Asami-san wants to review the footage quickly just to make sure that we're all set. Then I can go."

As she said this, Kyoko could finally feel the blush receding from her cheeks. But she knew it was lurking just under her skin, threatening to resurface with the slightest encouragement.

"What are you doing here?"

"I wondered when he would show up," Ren commented to Kyoko before standing up and turning around to watch Sho's quick approach. Of course it was the young singer who had spoken.

Kyoko could sense the fury coming off of Sho in waves - his anger was something she knew well and could recognize from a mile away. But she couldn't figure out why Sho would be so angry. She knew that he had always been jealous of Ren's fame and had long coveted Ren's spot as the number one male celebrity in Japan, but that wouldn't explain his irritation at seeing Ren on his set. Or maybe it would?

She hopped from her seat in the golfcart and planted herself in front of Ren, her embarrassment about her earlier thoughts finally gone, and the thoughts themselves forcefully buried for later evaluation.

"Oh no you don't," she started before Sho could come any closer. "I've worked hard all day long and done many things I'd rather not do. I'm exhausted and I do not have the patience to stand here and watch you get worked up over nothing. You are not going to turn this into some big deal - because it isn't. Ren-san simply came here to give me a ride home."

"So he's your private chauffeur now is he?" Sho commented snidely. "New career path, Tsuruga-san?" Kyoko suddenly imagined a dog in his place, with teeth bared, ears flat against his head, and erupting in snarls.

"What he is, is a really good friend! Something you know nothing about!" Kyoko snapped. She wouldn't watch as Sho tried to insult Ren. Ren was a better man than Sho could ever be. "I'm going to ask Asami-san if I can leave," she declared in the same angry voice before stomping off to where Asami was watching the footage.

Ren was wearing a little smile on his face. Hearing Kyoko call him a good friend showed that she had at least moved past their teacher-student relationship. He could imagine that he looked a little dopey right now and less like the cool Tsuruga Ren that Japan was used to seeing. Apparently Sho seemed to think so too.

"Look at you!" Sho began disgustedly. "She calls you a friend and you're happy? Well remember that she once loved me, that she once dreamed of marrying me, that she wanted to stay by my side forever - enough that she came with me to Tokyo."

"She never loved you," Ren replied, the smile dropping from his face. His voice had turned cold. "She just thought she did. When she falls in love for real, she'll realize that too - and then you won't have a hold on her."

"I've kissed her twice. How many times have you kissed her?" Sho retaliated childishly. "She can't forget that."

The word "twice" caught Ren's attention, but in practised fashion, this time he held his composure. He analysed the situation quickly in his head and came to the conclusion that Sho must have kissed Kyoko today for the music video - which would explain why he had never heard from Kyoko about a second kiss.

'_So that's why he wanted her for the music video,' _Ren thought darkly.

"Kyoko-san's very good at moving past the things she doesn't want to remember," Ren told the younger man.

Sho was about to retort when Kyoko strolled past him, grabbing Ren's arm and pulling him along behind her.

"I'm done. We can go. It's a nice night. Exercise is good. Let's walk back to the studio."

Ren wasn't sure whether he should laugh at Kyoko's clipped sentences, or worry for her.

"Is everything alright, Kyoko-san?" he finally asked after his urge to laugh had been quelled.

"Yes. I just really want to leave," Kyoko answered.

She realized she was being a little more aggressive than usual and she let go of Ren's arm instantly in embarrassment. It was all because of what she had seen on Asami's screens when she had gone over to ask if she could leave. Her and Sho kissing. The sight made her sick. Especially since so many other people would now see it.

"Ah, sorry, Ren-san," she said apologizing to Ren after she had taken a few deep breaths. She ducked her head in a small bow. "I was rude back there. It's just that it really has been a long, frustrating day."

"I understand," he said, a small smile coming to his lips.

They walked on in a comfortable silence for a few more minutes until they reached the studio. Kyoko immediately went to her dressing room to ditch the clothing she had worn while in Sho's arms. Asami had said that she could keep the dress from that morning and the outfit she wore now, but Kyoko didn't want the reminders of the afternoon. She slipped back into her own clothes - a jean skirt, pink t-shirt, and black sweater - and exited the room. She hadn't bothered to wash off the makeup. She liked how it looked, and she could always take it off back at the Daruma-ya.

"Ready to go?" Ren asked her when she opened the door.

He was leaning casually against the wall on the opposite side of the hallway.

"Yup!" Kyoko said happily. Her mood had improved as her distance from Sho had increased.

Luckily, she didn't run into him on her way out of the studio. Though she did see Shoko lounging around the front lobby.

"Goodbye, Shoko-san!" Kyoko said as she lifted a hand to wave at the woman.

Shoko looked up from the magazine she had been reading and offered Kyoko a smile. "Goodbye. I hope I'll see you again soon, and I wish you luck in the future, especially with your new drama."

"Thanks," Kyoko replied. And she continued on her way only to stop suddenly. Ren just watched the interaction with interest.

"And Shoko-san," Kyoko continued turning back towards the other woman, "it was really nice talking to you today."

"And to you," Shoko responded warmly.

And then Kyoko and Ren were really on their way out, Sho's music video already in the past for both of them, just another accomplishment under Kyoko's belt.

* * *

"So what do you want to eat?" Ren asked Kyoko as they climbed into his car.

Kyoko was about to say that it didn't matter when she remembered another time Ren had asked her the same question.

"Um, how about sushi?" Kyoko suggested hesitantly.

"Sounds good," Ren smiled at her, "I know just the place."

And a few minutes later, they arrived at a small sushi restaurant. Ren got them a small booth in a back corner where they ordered and ate in peace. Ren told her what he had done that day - some filming for a movie and a few tv interviews that he hadn't had time for recently - and then he even got Kyoko to talk about her day on set with Sho.

He listened with rapt attention as she told him the premise of the music video and what it had entailed. She explained to him the morning's scenes and how they had been, for the most part, okay. Then, she told him about the kiss with Sho that evening. "It was disgusting! But you would have been proud of me," Kyoko said, "I treated it as just another part of my job and got it done in one take. Asami said it looked good anyways." And Ren was proud. She wasn't letting this kiss get to her like she had let the last one.

How was Ren to know that the kiss was in fact getting to her, but for an entirely different reason than he would think? Mentioning it had caused the image of Ren she had buried to pop back into her head as she recalled the event.

She continued on to describe for him her individual scenes, pushing the image away again, and told him how her favourites had definitely been when she had gotten to rip down the pictures of Sho, and then rip up the picture of her and Sho. Ren laughed - half at the gleeful smile she wore as she described tearing up the photo, and half because he was relieved that she was acting so typically like Kyoko.

"So did you come to love this character?" he asked after a while.

Kyoko frowned. "No. But I don't totally hate her. I can understand why she wouldn't want to give up on something she'd lost and why she'd be happy when it returned - even if it was a guy like Sho," she said after a pause.

"You do?" Ren asked. He desperately wanted to know what that something was for Kyoko...and if he could maybe give it to her.

"Yeah. I lost a childhood friend. Do you remember when I told you about Corn? I only knew him for a few days, but I'd be so happy to see him again," Kyoko sighed. "But that's impossible. Anyways, if you're done we should get going. You need to get your rest," Kyoko snapped out of her funk and let her naturally buoyant personality reign - the one that worried for Ren's health endlessly.

Ren agreed with her easily, hiding the confusion that she had created in his heart. He was the only one who could give Kyoko what she had lost, but he didn't think it would make her happy - he thought it would just make her hurt more. Ren insisted on being allowed to pay for her meal, seeing as how he was the one who had asked her to join him, and the two left the restaurant full and trying to put uncomfortable thoughts behind them.

The car ride to Kyoko's that followed was pleasant as they both managed to bury their internal problems, and the two young actors continued their easy conversation.

"Wait! Where's Yashiro-san?" Kyoko suddenly asked, looking around the car as if Yashiro would suddenly pop out of nowhere.

"He got food poisoning last night so I told him not to worry about coming to work with me today. He's at home resting," Ren explained.

"Poor Yashiro-san," Kyoko commented as they pulled up near the Daruma-ya. Kyoko was about to open her door when Ren's hand closed around her's.

"Wait," he said quietly, his eyes fixed on the restaurant.

Kyoko followed his gaze and saw a swarm of people outside the Daruma-ya. People who were undoubtedly part of the paparazzi - there was no other reason for the cameras in their hands.

"What could they be doing here?" Kyoko asked worriedly. Ren had never been one to be stalked by the paparazzi - he was a celebrity of model behaviour who didn't try to hide from the press. There was no need for the paparazzi to bother him.

Ren started his car back up and drove around a corner, thankful for his tinted windows that had prevented anyone from realizing who was in the car. He didn't think that these photographers were waiting for him. If they were, why were they all huddled around where Kyoko lived? More importantly, why did they know where Kyoko lived? Only a few people in the company and her friends were supposed to have that information.

"Kyoko-san, please call Sawara-san. Find out if he knows anything about this," Ren said as he pulled over on the side street, out of the photographers' sights.

"Okay," Kyoko said, still a little confused. She slipped her phone out of her bag and dialled Sawara's cell.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Sawara-san. It's Kyoko. Um, there's something going on outside of my place," she began

"What sort of something?"

"Well there's a bunch of people standing around. A lot of them have cameras," Kyoko continued her explanation

"Where are you right now?" Sawara asked, and she suddenly heard the shuffling of papers on his end of the phone line. She thought he sounded concerned.

"We're parked around the corner from the restaurant," Kyoko told him.

"Who is we?" Sawara asked. The shuffling had stopped.

"Um, Tsuruga-san and me. He picked me up from the music video shoot on his way home," Kyoko told him. "Is that a problem?" she suddenly asked nervously.

"Not at all. Actually, it's good. Can you give him the phone, please?" Sawara asked.

"Of course," Kyoko mumbled. Then she took the phone away from her ear and offered it to Ren. "He wants to talk to you."

Ren took the phone out of Kyoko's hand and held it to his own ear. "Hello?" he asked.

"Tsuruga-san, how many photographers are out there?" Sawara asked getting right down to business.

"A lot," Ren answered simply.

"Okay. I'm very sorry to ask this of you, but is there somewhere you can take Kyoko-chan? I have a feeling I know what's happened, and she just can't go home while those men are out there. She'll be overwhelmed," Sawara spoke quickly in his businesslike tone.

"If I took her to my place would that be alright?" Ren asked.

"As long as you two aren't seen it should be fine. I'll call you when I know what's going on. And tell Kyoko-chan that I'll let the owners of the Daruma-ya know what's happening," Sawara continued seriously.

"Of course. Goodbye, Sawara-san."

"Goodbye, Tsuruga-san."

And with that Ren hung up.

"We're going to my place," Ren told Kyoko as he handed her back her phone and started his car. "Sawara-san will let the owners of the Daruma-ya know where you are."

"Why? What's going on?" Kyoko asked. Her worry was escalating with each passing moment.

"Sawara-san believes, like I do, that those photographers are here for you. Something must have inspired them to develop this sudden interest in you, and somehow they found out where you live," Ren explained.

Kyoko slunk down in her seat. "I'm sorry to cause you trouble again," she muttered as she bowed her head in apology to Ren.

"It's not your fault, and I'm glad to help. What are friends for?"

Kyoko smiled at the reminder that Ren considered her a friend now. Kyoko didn't know that Ren's answering smile was for the same reason - that he was happy because Kyoko now considered him a friend.

"Thank you," she mumbled, "for everything. You always seem to have my back."

They drove on in silence until they reached Ren's building, at which point both Ren and Kyoko scanned the area to make sure they wouldn't be seen as they climbed out of the car and made their way into Ren's home. When the coast was clear, they moved as quickly as they could without drawing suspicion straight into Ren's rooms. Only when the door was shut safely behind them did they both relax.

Kyoko laughed. "I feel like a spy or something," she said as her tension evaporated.

Ren watched her laugh and couldn't help but join in. They were interrupted by Kyoko's phone ringing though.

"That was quick," Kyoko commented absentmindedly as she moved to answer the cell.

"Put it on speaker phone," Ren suggested and Kyoko nodded, pressing the right buttons.

"Hello?" she answered, the phone sitting in the palm of her hand between her and Ren, who had moved closer to hear.

"Kyoko-chan, I've discovered the problem. Are you at Tsuruga-san's place yet?" Sawara asked.

"Yes," Kyoko answered quickly.

"Is there a computer there?"

Ren nodded his head, and Kyoko answered: "Yeah."

"Go to the _Celebrity Beat _website. You won't be able to miss the article," Sawara-san explained.

Kyoko felt her stomach knot up. She knew this couldn't be good. Ren had already moved to the computer and was pulling up the web page. The very first thing she saw when it loaded was a picture of her from _Box "R"_.

"Oh no," she mumbled.

"Harada Tsutomu has exposed where you live and he's built up enough hype and mystery around you that everyone suddenly wants to know all about you. We expected him to publish an article in their next issue, but not to publish one online and so quickly - and certainly not with your home address," Sawara's voice echoed from her phone.

"Oh no," Kyoko repeated.

"I'm sorry, Kyoko-chan, but you really can't go home tonight. Do you have any work tomorrow?"

"N-no," Kyoko stuttered in her shock - she had never expected to be hounded by the paparazzi.

"Good," Sawara said satisfied that somehow Kyoko didn't have to be on set for _Dark Moon_, _Box "R"_,_ Mob Daughter_, or _Kimagure Rock _that Sunday. "As long as Tsuruga-san is fine with it, you should hide out at his place tomorrow until we can think of a solution."

"That's fine with me," Ren spoke into the phone, turning his eyes away from the short article about Kyoko he had been reading online.

"Oh, Tsuruga-san. You heard? Good. Now, I need to get in touch with Takarada-san to figure out how we're going to handle this. I leave Kyoko-chan in your hands," Sawara said before hanging up abruptly.

Kyoko stood, eyes transfixed on her phone that was now emitting a dial tone. Ren was the one who finally hit the end call button.

"Do you want anything to drink, Kyoko-san?" Ren asked hesitantly when Kyoko didn't budge.

Ren's voice was enough to bring Kyoko back to the reality before her.

"I'm okay," Kyoko answered. "I would like to read the article though. I can't imagine what that man could have written that would have generated so much interest in little old me."

She was snapping out of it. She had experienced a shock when she had heard that people wanted to take her picture, but that was not any reason to be upset. It was just something she would have to deal with and overcome, a part of show business. And as for Harada Tsutomu, the man who had found her and then incited everyone else to do so - while giving them the means to do it - ...well, she was furious with him. What gave him the right to expose her like that? She hated people like him who succeeded by exploiting others.

Ren moved out of the chair in front of the computer screen and let Kyoko sit down. Then he watched her face as she read the article:

_Her past is unknown, but her future is no mystery. Budding actress, Kyoko, is prepared to take Japan by storm. Already, this LME talent has wowed us with her Kyurara commercial with fellow LME actress to watch, Kotonami Kanae. She's created a brand new Mio who we love to hate in _Dark Moon_, and a delicious Natsu in _Box "R"_. But her claim to fame does not stop there. Kyoko has also starred in a video for Fuwa Sho's song _Prisoner_ - despite the fact that she is not even linked with Sho's agency._

_What is perhaps even more astounding is that Kyoko continues to work, when she has the time, at a small restaurant where she also has a room. It was when I stopped for a meal at the Daruma-ya that I had the privilege to catch a glimpse of Kyoko coming home after a hard day of work, only to reappear minutes later in an apron, ready to help out. She remains charmingly down to earth, even as her name becomes more and more well known._

_But who is this young girl? Where did she come from? She's already worked with some of the top names in the entertainment industry - Fuwa Sho and Tsuruga Ren immediately coming to mind. I eagerly await the day when we will all know more about Kyoko, but until then, I urge you to watch her, for we are sure to see bright things from this new shining star._

Kyoko remained emotionless as she perused through the words. The small article contained no false information and nothing directly hurtful. Still, Harada Tsutomu had deliberately revealed her address and turned the world's attention to her by making her out to be some mysterious new celebrity.

Kyoko remembered Sawara-san's words: _'Harada Tsutomu likes to embarrass celebrities, make them look bad, and make their lives difficult'_.

He hadn't embarrassed her, he hadn't made her look bad, but he had most definitely just made her life more difficult. She would have to watch herself until the buzz around her died down or else she might do or say something that would embarrass her or make her look bad all on her own. It was frustrating to say the least, but it wasn't as bad as she had feared. The article might even bring some more business to the Daruma-ya, which would be good for the taisho and okami...

And then Kyoko saddened as she came to another realization.

"I can't live there anymore," she said, her face finally taking on an expression - it was one of sadness.


	10. Chapter 10: Princess Relocation

**Disclaimer: La la la. It's there...somewhere. Look carefully for it. I'm sure you'll find it.**

**Authoress' Notes: I suck. This always happens to me. I write a chapter, I know where I want to go with the next chapter, I write half of that, and then I freeze up. So there went the month of June. Then all of July I was at camp. Then August was two weeks of family vacation, meeting friends, and other fun stuff. I tried to write, but I just didn't have the time or the inspiration. Now with school starting, I have suddenly been inspired again, and I have found a little bit of time to write. **

**I warn you now. It's going to be hard to update for the next little while, but I will try.**

**Now, this chapter is not as exciting as some of you might want, but filler is always necessary. Don't worry. Things will pick up again soon. We still need to get to America don't we?**

**After a three month hiatus, we now return to Kyoko's Fairytale in 3...2...1...ACTION!**

* * *

"Kyoko-san, that's not necessarily true," Ren rushed to tell her. He was trying to comfort her, trying to bring a smile to her face, despite the fact that he knew how very right she was.

"Ren-san, it's okay. I know that I can't go back," Kyoko answered, a sad little smile coming to her face. "It's nice of you to say that, but you know better than I do that it won't be good for people to know where I live, especially if I'm ever the center of attention again. And if I were to continue living at the Daruma-ya, the okami and taisho would feel the consequences too. I mean, they're the ones who had to deal with that crowd outside all evening...not me...and I feel just terrible. It's not fair to them, and I won't put them through something like that again when they've been nothing but kind to me." Kyoko sighed. "I was going to have to move out someday anyways."

Ren really wanted to wrap his arms around Kyoko, to keep her safe and protect her from the rest of the world. But he couldn't. He wasn't sure how Kyoko would react to his embrace - it might even just upset her more.

"Where will you live then?" Ren asked, crouching down next to her chair so that he could look her in the eyes.

Kyoko looked thoughtful for a minute, then she closed her eyes and let out a slow breath. "I've saved pretty much all I've earned so far, and as long as I keep working, I should have more than enough to rent a small apartment somewhere. I should probably start looking around for one as soon as possible."

Kyoko had straightened in the computer chair as she spoke, and now she was poised on the edge of it. It was almost as though she was ready to stand up and rush out the door to begin her search right that very minute.

"You can't go anywhere until Sawara-san has sorted this out," Ren reminded her as he continued to watch her carefully, more than ready to stop her if she decided to flee.

"But what if they can't sort it out quickly? Where am I going to live until then?" Kyoko asked as she slumped back down in the seat.

"You'll stay here, of course," Ren said, hoping that the happiness he felt was not obvious in his voice. "Sawara-san told you to hide out here, didn't he?"

"For tomorrow! I can't impose on you any longer than that, though," Kyoko said, her voice picking up the panicky edge she had whenever she was worried or nervous about something.

"Kyoko-san. I'm saying that it's alright. Remember, I wouldn't offer if it was any sort of bother. You're already spending tonight here anyways. If it takes a few more days to get things sorted out, then you'll spend a few more nights here. That's all," Ren explained calmly. He was more than happy to let her stay with him, and he wanted to convince her that it was fine. He was even more than willing to endure Yashiro's teasing once the man found out that Kyoko was staying at Ren's place - as long as it meant that he could spend more time with Kyoko.

"Okay," Kyoko said quietly after looking back at the article on the computer screen. "Thank you, Ren-san."

"You're welcome."

* * *

Kyoko could hardly believe that she was spending the night at Ren's place. Again. And she might be spending the next few nights here if she didn't find somewhere new to live quickly. It was something that would have made many other girls very happy, but Kyoko was just sad. She had lost her home, she had lost her relative anonymity in the entertainment business, she had most likely caused the people who had taken care of her so well distress, she had put up with Sho all morning, and she was imposing on Ren again. It really wasn't a good day.

Now, she was sitting on the couch in front of Ren's television, watching some absolutely meaningless variety show and nursing a glass of cool water that Ren had gotten for her. She was trying to relax and just accept the things that had happened to her, reasoning through them in her head in the hope that in that way they would come to feel less painful.

She had lost her home.

Well, she was going to have to move out someday, just as she had told Ren. The circumstances for the move, and how soon it would have to be were unfortunate, but this wasn't necessarily a horrible thing. And it's not like she would be unable to visit the Daruma-ya, and more importantly the okami and taisho. She just wouldn't be staying with them...the people who had become so much like her parents.

'_No. Don't dwell on the sad parts, Kyoko,' _she mentally scolded herself before going on.

She had lost her anonymity.

That was also bound to happen someday. She wanted to become a famous actress. She wanted to work doing what she had come to love for the rest of her life. Of course she couldn't remain just another girl in the shadows. She just hoped that she wouldn't screw up or embarrass herself in any way. She wanted to be like Ren. The cool, composed celebrity who never did anything wrong or humiliating in the media's eye. But could she really be like that?

She was drifting into sad territory again.

'_What else happened today?' _she questioned herself, trying to get her thoughts moving into a different direction.

She had kissed Sho.

And that was when she froze, the glass of water almost slipping from her hands. She had kissed Sho and that had really sucked...but she had thought of Ren when she had done it, and that was confusing. She asked herself, yet again, the same questions that she had thought about earlier. Why had she been able to kiss Sho when an image of Ren popped into her mind? Why hadn't she freaked out? Why hadn't she frozen up?

Kyoko couldn't explain it.

She glanced at Ren out of the corner of her eye. He was sitting at the other end of the couch, his eyes fixed on the screen in front of him. Why had she thought of him when it was supposed to be her imaginary Prince Charming?

'_Why him?'_ she wondered.

"Huh?"

It was Ren's voice that questioned her, and she realized that she had asked her final question aloud. Ren's eyes were now locked on her's, and she couldn't stop the furious blush from rising to her cheeks.

"Nothing. It's nothing," she muttered, shaking her head to free herself from the weird mood she was in. Thinking about it was only making her more and more confused, and no answer was coming to mind. She would just have to accept it as something that had happened and move on - especially if it made her blush so much in front of Ren. She already did that enough without having yet another reason.

She suddenly felt exhausted from the day's events and her own mental reasoning.

"I think I'm going to go to bed, Ren-san. I'm sorry to be such bad company, but I'm exhausted," Kyoko told the actor, a yawn escaping her body.

"Don't worry about it. Just get some rest. I'll be here until about noon tomorrow, so if you think of anything that you might need in the morning, we can go pick it up then," Ren replied.

Kyoko yawned again and stood up to take her leave, planning to drop the glass in her hand in the sink before heading to the guest room Ren had made up for her, a pair of his pyjamas included since she had nothing to sleep in.

"Goodnight, Ren-san," she said over her shoulder as she walked towards the kitchen.

"Goodnight, Kyoko-san," he answered her.

* * *

Ren couldn't sleep.

Why?

Because Kyoko was in his apartment, only a short walk away, and he couldn't stop thinking about her or what she had told him earlier. She wanted to see her Corn again, and that was the one thing that only Ren could give her. But at what cost? He had been hiding the truth from her for a long time now. If he did tell her, would she lose faith in her fairy prince? Would she be hurt that he had kept that secret from her? Would she not want to see him anymore?

He really just had to tell her, but could he do it when that might mean revealing to her the one thing he was supposed to keep secret - his identity? Ren supposed that it was possible that he could tell her about being Corn without revealing to her that he was Hizuri Kuu's son, but she would likely have questions, and he wouldn't be able to lie to her anymore to answer them.

He knew that Kyoko would understand why he had waited if in the future sometime he told her that he was Kuu's son. But would she understand if he waited to tell her that he was Corn? That was a secret that involved her as well, and he almost felt like he was betraying her in keeping that from her. Would she feel the same way?

She was so important to him already. He was well and truly in love with her, and he was ready to fight for her heart. Already he had made progress in getting her to acknowledge him as a friend, and she was slowly letting him be more and more involved in her life. And even if he couldn't tell her that he loved her now, he hoped that maybe one day, she would be ready to hear it.

Ren sighed and rolled over in his bed. Who was he kidding? He was too scared to even hug her now, afraid that it might make her freak out, like when he had kissed her on the cheek on Valentine's Day. And yet she had been able to kiss Sho, who she was so upset with, easily enough today apparently.

Ren rolled over again. That was another thing that bothered him. Sho had kissed Kyoko twice, once forcefully, and once through trickery. And even though Ren knew that Kyoko hadn't enjoyed it, he was still jealous. That was when he realized that he would also have his chance to kiss Kyoko. He was a boy vying for her attention in their new drama, and the director had hinted that he would be the one to eventually win her affection, but even if he wasn't, he would still likely end up kissing her. That was how these things went.

And then Ren groaned, because his reasoning meant that even if his character was going to end up with Kyoko's in the drama, Daisuke's character would probably still have a kissing scene with Kyoko. Ren smacked himself on the forehead. He was a professional actor. He knew that kisses in front of the camera meant nothing, but with Kyoko, it was different. With her it was always different.

Ren rolled over and shut his eyes, determined to shut off his brain as well. He couldn't keep thinking. He would never get to sleep.

* * *

When Kyoko woke up in the morning, it was to the smell of coffee brewing. She climbed out of bed and adjusted the blue pair of pyjamas Ren had given her, which involved rolling up both the pant bottoms and shirt sleeves, and tightening the drawstring on the pants so that they wouldn't fall down. Then she smoothed her hair into some semblance of presentable as she headed towards the kitchen.

The sight that greeted her eyes was enough to make them fly wide open, and to fully wake Kyoko up.

Ren was cooking.

Or attempting to anyways.

It looked like he was trying to make an American style breakfast of pancakes and bacon, but he was trying to do both things at once and it looked like he wasn't sure exactly what he should be attending to. Plus he had pancake batter on his nose. Kyoko wanted to laugh, but she tried to suppress it out of her respect for Ren. When he tried to flip a pancake using a spatula and accidentally sent it flying out of the pan though, she couldn't help herself anymore. She burst out laughing.

Ren looked up from the pan he was staring at and saw her standing in the doorway, a huge smile plastered on her face that she immediately tried to cover up. It was no use though. Ren cooking was a strange enough sight. Ren doing funny things while cooking...well, Kyoko's composure was toast.

As she tried to calm her laughing, she strode over to stove where she picked up a set of tongs and quickly flipped over the frying pieces of bacon. Then, she grabbed the bowl of pancake batter and poured some more of it into the now empty pancake pan, gently easing the spatula out of Ren's hand and placing it within her reach. Finally, she reached for the dish towel on the counter next to the stove and stretched her hand up to wipe the batter from Ren's nose. Those tasks completed, and her laughter suppressed to mere giggles now that Ren was cleaned up and she had taken charge of breakfast, Kyoko urged him to sit down, insisting that she would finish what he had started.

"Do you often prepare breakfast for yourself?" she asked as she expertly flipped the pancake over with no need for the spatula. "I thought you never ate properly which was why Yashiro and I always had to make you."

"I do try to at least eat a decent breakfast if I have time in the morning. Usually I don't go through such lengths to prepare it though. The simpler, the better," Ren laughed.

Kyoko glanced at him and saw that he was smiling at her. She smiled back, glad that he didn't seem offended that she had taken control in the kitchen when he had attempted to make breakfast for her.

"What motivated you this morning?" she asked curiously as she grabbed each piece of bacon out of the frying pan, placing them on a paper towel and using it to sponge off the grease.

"I had the time and the food," Ren shrugged.

"Well, you did a good job for someone who I thought ate only packaged foods," Kyoko told him as she dumped the pancake in the pan onto a plate. "This shouldn't take too much longer."

"You seem much happier this morning," Ren commented as he watched her work in his kitchen wearing his pyjamas. He would never admit to anyone how much that brought a smile to his face.

Kyoko couldn't help but agree with Ren's statement. She had exhausted her sadness and confusion the night before, now she was just ready to move on as best as she could and take on the world. She told Ren this and he offered her another smile.

"I'm going to start looking at a few places online while I'm cooped up here if you don't mind me using your computer," Kyoko told Ren her plan for the day.

"No problem. By the way, do you need me to get anything for you before I leave for work?" Ren asked as Kyoko brought their breakfast to the table. Ren had already filled up their coffee cups.

"I'll be fine, but thanks for asking. If it's alright, I'll just wash my clothes and surf the net. Maybe watch some television. Hopefully I'll hear from Sawara-san sometime today because I have to go to work tomorrow and I'll need things from my room."

"Just do whatever you need to make yourself at home, Kyoko-san," Ren told her sincerely.

* * *

It was weird.

Kyoko was in Ren's apartment without him...as she had been for the last hour already. He had left for work after asking her for what seemed like the hundredth time if she needed anything. Now, so far, she had already washed her clothes from yesterday and put them in Ren's dryer, made her bed, watched a little television, and searched unsuccessfully for a new home online.

She still hadn't heard anything from Sawara.

So, taking a necessary break from her apartment search, she picked up her phone from its place on the desk in front of her and dialled a friend. Kanae picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Moko," Kyoko answered her friend.

"What's wrong this time, Kyoko? You don't sound cheerful," Kanae commented in her usual blunt manner.

Kyoko gave a little laugh. "You could say that," she began before she explained her entire situation to Kanae.

"Oh, Kyoko. And you haven't heard anything from Sawara-san yet? What about all your stuff? Is someone going to get it?" Kanae was ever practical.

"I don't know," Kyoko mumbled. "All I know is that I'm supposed to stay at Ren-san's place and that I need to find somewhere new to live."

There was a momentary pause before Kyoko heard Kanae's voice again. "Um, well, until you find somewhere new to live, you could stay with me...I mean if you're uncomfortable at Tsuruga's place, or whatever," Kanae babbled trying her best to sound neutral.

Kyoko felt the warmth of happiness flooding her body. And then her call waiting went off.

"Um, I have someone on the other line, Moko," Kyoko told her friend.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Just hang up on me and call me back after. It could be Sawara-san," Kanae instructed.

"Okay. Bye for now, Moko," Kyoko replied. And then she did exactly what she was told and hung up on Kanae, turning her attention to her incoming call.

"Hello?"

"Kyoko-chan, I'm so glad to get in touch with you so quickly. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that we've found somewhere for you to live." Kyoko immediately recognized the quick speaking voice as belonging to Sawara.

"Really? Already? Where? How much is it going to cost me?" Kyoko fired her questions off rapidly after a brief pause. News about a potential home was great news, and she was eager to hear more.

"First of all, I think you'll be pleased to know that it will be absolutely free. Takarada-san decided that it would be in our best interests to keep a watchful eye on our three newest and most promising talents so that something like this doesn't happen to you again, or to your fellow Love Me members Kanae-chan and Chiori-chan. So, we've purchased a three bedroom apartment where you can all live," Sawara explained.

Kyoko dropped her phone and stared at the wall stunned for a minute. She could hear Sawara calling her name through the tiny, tinny speaker, and finally regained her senses enough to pick up the phone.

"I'm sorry, Sawara-san. Did you say that LME bought an apartment for me?" Kyoko asked incredulously. Her heart was racing. This was too good to be true...right?

"Not just for you," Sawara reminded her. "Kanae-chan and Chiori-chan will be encouraged to move in as well. I'll actually be calling them after I'm done informing you of the situation. Also, if there are any other Love Me members or young talents in the future, they may also be moving in there. It's more of a temporary housing until you're a big star or can support yourself easily."

"But I have somewhere to live?" Kyoko continued on, wanting to confirm and reconfirm what her manager was telling her. "What about the electricity, hydro, and all that?"

"Those bills will be sent straight to our offices. You girls will only need to worry about food and other personal expenses."

Kyoko could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. This was more than she had ever expected when she had resolved to break into show business. The agency was treating her so well.

"Then, what about my stuff? I mean, it's all at the Daruma-ya..."

"Don't worry, Kyoko-chan. Someone picked it all up late last night without being seen. It should already have been delivered to your new apartment," Sawara continued happily.

Kyoko was overcome by joy at how this awful event in her life had been resolved. She had somewhere to live - and it would be with her best friend Kanae and her new friend Chiori. She imagined that soon this whole business around her would die down and then she could visit the Daruma-ya again and properly thank the okami and taisho for all they had done for her. And she wasn't even worried about any of the things that had plagued her yesterday because she couldn't be bothered to stress herself out right now.

"Wait," Kyoko said after having digested this news. "Where is this apartment?"

There was a moment of silence and Kyoko guessed that Sawara was confirming the address. "Um, it's actually located in the building you're in right now," he finally told her.

"What?" Kyoko spluttered. "You mean I'll be living in the same building as Tsuruga-san?"

"Actually, you'll be living right above him," Sawara said.

Kyoko couldn't say that she was displeased by that revelation, but she was definitely shocked. This time she managed to keep a hold on the phone in her hand though.

"Well," she said after she gathered her thoughts together, "that'll be easy then. I guess I'll move in as soon as Tsuruga-san gets back and I get a key. Thank you so much, Sawara-san. And tell Takarada-san the same thing. I don't know when I'll see him next."

"I will. And Kyoko-chan, someone will come drop off the key later this afternoon, so just lie low at Tsuruga-san's place for a while," Sawara told her before saying his farewell and hanging up, presumably to contact her friends.

Kyoko left the computer desk and settled into the couch, unable to believe what had just happened. LME had bought an apartment for her and her friends. One in Ren's gorgeous, expensive building. She wouldn't have to worry about finding an apartment she could afford for a while, and she wouldn't feel lonely in her new apartment. She had never thought that anyone except the taisho and okami would look after her so well, but here the company was, proving her wrong. She had a suspicion that Lory had something to do with the current situation. A whole lot of something. He was the only one who could approve such a decision.

She would have to thank him in person the next time she saw him.

She considered calling Kanae back, but knew that Kanae would call her as soon as she heard from Sawara, so she settled in to wait.

* * *

"Kyoko-san?" Ren called as he opened the door to his apartment.

Kyoko turned away from the television set and watched as Ren came into view.

"Hi," she said while smiling brightly. "How was your day?" It almost seemed like she was a housewife awaiting her husband's arrival. Ren stifled his grin.

"Fine. But I'm more interested in knowing how your day went. You look happy. Did you have any luck today with your search?" Ren asked.

"You could say that," Kyoko laughed, holding up the key to her apartment upstairs that Sawara-san had personally dropped off when he had finished up at work earlier that day.

"How?" Ren questioned, completely stupefied. Lucky for him, he was able to prevent his mouth from dropping open like a fish.

"Well you see..." Kyoko began her explanation, telling Ren the whole story as he took a seat on the couch next to her.

"And then Kanae and Chiori-san both agreed to move in and they'll be coming over tomorrow with their stuff!" she finished her tale excitedly with the latest info she had received from Sawara.

Ren was at a complete loss for words. Kyoko would be living in his building. In the apartment right above him. She would be so close to him...all the time. He could offer her rides nearly every morning, run into her in the elevator, visit her... He was getting ahead of himself. And this was all because of Takarada Lory... He couldn't even be mad at the man for his interference this time.

"So, will you be staying there tonight?" he finally asked, returning to the present and addressing the girl in front of him.

"Well, it's already furnished, and all my stuff is there...and I have the key, and I'd hate to impose myself on you any longer," Kyoko answered quickly.

'_It's not an imposition,'_ Ren thought, but he bit back his retort. Instead he asked, "Would you like me to come with you? I know it's only upstairs but-"

"Oh no! I couldn't ask you to do that!" Kyoko was quick to interrupt him.

Ren sighed. He had expected this answer, and he couldn't really think of a way to insist otherwise.

"At least let me give you a ride over to the set tomorrow morning. You're filming _Mob Daughter_ first thing right?" Ren already knew the answer to his question. He was supposed to be in a scene with Kyoko first thing tomorrow morning.

"Ah, yeah," Kyoko answered him. "A ride would be really helpful," she added with her trademark sweet smile. "Um, then I guess I'll get going now, it's already pretty late, and I haven't seen the apartment yet."

She stood up from the couch and collected her bag. Ren walked her to the door.

"I'll meet you tomorrow down by your car at seven?" she suggested as she passed through Ren's front door into the hallway.

"Sounds good. Goodnight, Kyoko-san," Ren told her.

"Goodnight," she answered back over her shoulder, already walking towards the elevator.

* * *

Kyoko stood outside the door to her new, shared apartment with a certain sense of excitement building up in her.

"Well, I guess I might as well just get this over with," she mumbled to herself, extracting her key from her pocket.

She slipped it into the lock mechanism without any further ceremony, turned the key, and opened the door. It was dark inside the apartment, so she looked for a light switch on the lefthand side, remembering that's where the switch was in Ren's home. She felt an extreme satisfaction when her hand connected with the small switch. She flicked it up, and suddenly, her new home was illuminated.

The place seemed huge, compared to her old room at the Daruma-ya. It was also really tastefully decorated, much like Ren's apartment downstairs. It was also really sparse. Presently, the only indication that someone was living there was the pile of Kyoko's things on the couch in the living room.

'_I guess I have my pick of the bedrooms,'_ she thought, going to inspect them.

They were all in a back hallway, next door to each other, with already made up queen sized beds, large closets, dressers, empty bookshelves, and night tables. Kyoko picked the room in the middle, and quickly moved all her stuff there, not bothering to unpack anything except her toiletries and her pyjamas.

She quickly got ready to go to sleep, visiting the nearest of the two bathrooms in the apartment, and climbed into the unfamiliar bed.

This place wasn't her home yet - it was just an apartment. But tomorrow, Chiori and Kanae would be joining her. And Ren was just downstairs. Kyoko hoped that soon this place would begin to feel as lived in, and as dear to her as the Daruma-ya.

With her friends living with her, how could it not?

* * *

**Things will pick up, just like I said. I mean, Kanae and Chiori are moving in with Kyoko. Into Ren's building. Plus we're back on set for _Mob Daughter_. And what'll happen when Kyoko gets over the whole moving thing and starts to think of kissing Sho again...and imagining Ren? Poor girl.**


	11. Chapter 11: Sharing the Tower

**Disclaimer: Really, if I owned Skip Beat! would I be writing fanfiction?  
**

**Authoress' Notes: Sorry. This is all I will say on the subject matter of the long time between updates: I wish I had had more time to write during the Summer, but I didn't, and as soon as the school year started I knew I would not be able to write at all because of my course load. It's a sad truth, but one I've come to accept. Maybe next semester will be better, but I won't know until I see what my profs start assigning. Now, this chapter may be a bit of a let down for some of you who have waited a long time for it, because I'm out of practice and my writing is not at its best, but I hope that you can still find something to enjoy in it.**

**Kyoko's Fairytale is live in 3...2...1...ACTION!**

* * *

When Kyoko awoke the next morning, she was momentarily surprised by the unfamiliar room she was in. Then she remembered that she had officially moved into an apartment upstairs from Ren. With a deep breath, she flipped the covers of her new bed back and set about her morning routine. Only when she was dressed and otherwise prepped for the day did she enter the apartment's kitchen and realize that though Lory or Sawara had decided to provide them with some pots, pans, cutlery and dishes, there wasn't any food in the cupboards or fridge.

She bit back a small groan. She was kind of hungry and she still had twenty minutes before she was to meet Ren for her ride. She briefly debated whether she could call on him a little earlier and beg some food from him, but decided that she couldn't possibly interrupt his morning routine, and besides, they had probably had all the breakfast food worth eating yesterday. So instead, she rapidly made a grocery list, and when that was done she set about unpacking some of her things to kill time.

A few minutes before seven, she quickly gathered up a purse with anything she might need for the day, including her new house key and recently written grocery list, and then exited the apartment, locking the door behind her. She strode over to the elevator, and pressed the button, calling it to her floor, and when it arrived, she stepped in and pressed the button for the underground parking garage. The elevator travelled down all of one floor before coming to a stop.

Kyoko moved out of the way of the opening doors, a knowing smile on her lips. Her smile grew even bigger when Ren walked into the open elevator, a look of shock on his face, though his shocked countenance was quickly replaced with a smile.

"Good morning, Kyoko-san," he greeted her.

"Good morning, Ren-san," she answered back cheerfully, though it was a little weird seeing Ren in the elevator in the building where she now lived. But just as she would get used to calling this apartment building home, she would get used to the possibility of bumping into Ren in the hallways.

"Is your apartment nice? How similar is the layout to mine?" Ren asked her as the elevator resumed its descent to the parking garage.

"It's very nice," she answered, "and much more than I expected. We have a living room/dining room, a kitchen, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and more than enough space for the three of us. I can't imagine how Takarada-san and Sawara-san could have gotten all this organized in a day though."

"Neither can I," Ren answered.

But in fact, Ren had his own suspicions as to how Lory had obtained a furnished apartment in under a day. Ren's leading suspicion, and the one that made the most sense, was that Lory had bought the apartment when it had first become available and had been planning this for a while now. Actually, that was Ren's only suspicion. Lory always schemed and plotted and had an unhealthy interest in Ren's love life and that of his Love Me members. Ren would bet that Lory was overjoyed by the turn of events.

As the two actors walked into the underground parking garage, Ren looked at the cheerful young woman at his side. Two days ago, her world had been turned upside down and here she was, walking next to him, with a smile on her face. She amazed Ren with her resilience, her talent, her personality...he could go on.

When they reached his car and he unlocked the doors, Kyoko climbed into the backseat from the passenger's side. Ren gave her a confused look.

"Don't you have to pick up Yashiro-san this morning?" she asked.

How could he have forgotten? Ren silenced his groan and nodded in response. Then he started the car, eased out of his spot, drove out of the parking garage and onto the road.

"So do you always pick up Yashiro-san from his home?" Kyoko asked Ren in curiosity when they stopped at a red light. "Or does he sometimes meet you on set or at your place?"

"Sometimes if he has to stop by the office first or take care of something on set he'll meet me there. Sometimes when I start later in the afternoon he comes to meet me at my building..._our_ building. Otherwise, I pick him up from his place," Ren told her, reminding himself that his building was now also Kyoko's.

'_Yashiro will get a kick out of that when he finds out,'_ Ren thought and winced ever so slightly.

Luckily Kyoko didn't notice as she was too busy nodding her head up and down, apparently taking in this new information about Yashiro.

A few minutes later they pulled up outside Yashiro's apartment building. Yashiro was already waiting outside and as soon as he spotted Ren's car, he ran over.

"I hope," Yashiro began as soon as he had opened the door, "that you had breakfast this morning Ren. If you didn't I'll tell on you to Kyoko-san."

Ren watched in his rearview mirror as Kyoko stifled her giggle. Yashiro had taken his seat in the car and he hadn't noticed her sitting quietly behind him. Ren flashed her an amused smile, without turning around, using the same mirror.

"I did eat breakfast, and you can tell Kyoko-san so right now, though I daresay it would be redundant for you to repeat my words to her when she's just heard them," Ren answered his manager.

Yashiro looked very confused for a second as he processed his charge's response. Then his eyes widened comically and he whirled around to face Kyoko who just laughed and waved at him.

"But don't you usually pick up Kyoko-san after you get me?" Yashiro asked in confusion. It was true. Though the Daruma-ya was on the way from Ren's to Yashiro's, the few times Ren had picked Kyoko up in the mornings, he had picked Yashiro up first to give Kyoko a few extra minutes to get ready.

Kyoko looked at Ren in the mirror and he shrugged. So Ren hadn't told his manager yesterday that Kyoko had been staying at his apartment, and unless Ren had spoken to Yashiro since he had arrived home last night, there was no way that his manager would know that Kyoko now lived in Ren's building.

"That's true, Yashiro-san," Kyoko answered simply, a smile still on her face.

Yashiro just looked more confused.

As Ren stopped at another red light, he turned to look at his manager. "Yukihito-san, I'd like to introduce you to my new neighbour, Mogami Kyoko," he said, motioning to Kyoko in the back seat.

"Good morning, Yashiro-san. It's nice to meet you," Kyoko replied in keeping with the little game.

Poor Yashiro still looked confused. "New neighbour?" he asked, looking between the two young actors.

"I moved into Ren-san's building yesterday," Kyoko answered after a brief pause, taking pity on the poor man after seeing that Ren was apparently more than willing to keep his manager in suspense.

"But how? Why?" Yashiro spluttered.

As Kyoko explained to Yashiro the circumstances behind her move, Ren kept glancing at her face in the mirror and saw as it turned sad, then accepting, and then happy again as she went through her story. A glance to his side revealed that Yashiro's initial confusion had now been replaced by glee. He could just imagine what sort of thoughts Yashiro was having, and he bet they probably all revolved around how the two young LME talents sharing an apartment building could be an excuse for them to spend more time together.

Ren would have won a lot of money.

The cog's in Yashiro's mind were in fact whirling at an alarming rate. Kyoko was now living in the same building as Ren, courtesy of Takarada Lory's generosity. Yashiro could kiss the man for the absolute work of art he had just engineered. Yashiro knew Ren wouldn't mind helping Kyoko or visiting her or whatever. Yashiro just needed to get Kyoko to see the useful resource she now had at her disposal in Ren. A plan came to mind and he spoke quickly, hoping to engineer some alone time for the two as soon as this evening.

"So Kyoko-san," Yashiro began as Kyoko wound up her tale, "do you have any food at your place yet?"

Kyoko shook her head. "I haven't had time to go shopping yet," she pointed out. "I was actually planning on going to the grocery store when I was done working today. Kanae and Chiori-san are both working all morning and afternoon so they'll be moving in this evening. I was hoping to get home with the groceries and then make us a meal to share." A dreamy smile came to Kyoko's face as she imagined herself, Kanae, and Chiori sitting around their dining room table sharing a hot pot or passing around the dishes of some meal she had cooked.

Kyoko pulled out her shopping list and passed it to Yashiro. He scanned the long list, his eyes flashing in triumph.

"Kyoko-san, maybe you should wait until you have some help from your new roommates to go and buy all this. It looks like much too much for you to carry all on your own," he commented, a sly smile coming to his lips. "Or maybe Ren could help you. If I remember correctly, both of you share your last scene for the day, and I know Ren doesn't have any other work afterwards."

"I couldn't ask Ren-san to help me with my groceries!" Kyoko protested as she imagined Ren trailing behind her in the grocery store, carrying the produce and packages she pulled from the shelves. The image just seemed wrong.

"What are friends for, Kyoko-san?" Ren asked, rejoining the conversation, once again glad for his meddling manager. They were pulling into the parking lot of the studio.

Kyoko opened her mouth to protest again. The idea was just too bizarre to her.

"Since we finish at the same time and since we're going to the same place it only makes sense for me to give you a ride back," Ren insisted. "We'll just stop by at a grocery store on our way home from the set."

Kyoko just looked at him as he pulled into a spot.

"If you say so," she finally spoke.

* * *

Forty minutes later, Kyoko was done in hair and makeup and strode into the school's gym, closed to the students for the day, in a typical high school gym uniform of shorts and a t-shirt. The black and pink hair of the wig she wore was tied up in a high ponytail. Ren was also dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, but his were much bigger and much baggier. A bunch of extras were dressed in the same way as them, and another actor who was to be their gym teacher wore sweat pants, a t-shirt and a whistle around his neck. He also held a clipboard.

"Remember," Shingai called as they finished setting up the scene, "Saki doesn't know anything about Yahiko yet, while Yahiko knows who she is and is using the lucky circumstances to start trying to get close to her. Action!"

* * *

"_Nakamura Saki pair with...Sato Yahiko," the gym teacher ordered after consulting his list._

_Saki looked around in the crowd of students for Yahiko, her face without her usual carefree smile, and frowned when she didn't spot him._

_Someone tapped her on the shoulder and she whirled around to find the tall and handsome Yahiko standing there, a volleyball already in his hands._

"_Saki-san," he greeted her with a smile._

"_Yahiko-san," she greeted back politely, still without a smile._

_They walked away from the group of students yet to be assigned to pairs in silence. When they had reached an empty corner of the gym, they took places facing each other about ten feet apart. Yahiko prepared to serve and Saki's expressionless face took on a grimace._

"_I'm sorry Yahiko-san. I remember that you play volleyball very well, but I should warn you before we start that I'm rather awful and I'm afraid I won't be able to offer you much practice at all," she spoke quickly, a slight blush coming to her cheeks._

_Yahiko shook his head, his warm smile still present. "Then I'll just have to teach you," he stated. "Let's start with the basics. I'll pass you the ball and you return it. Do you know how you're supposed to volley?"_

_Saki nodded her head._

_So Yahiko volleyed the ball high in the air so Saki could get under it. She did manage that much, but when she tried to return the ball with a volley of her own, the ball merely bounced off her hands and fell to the ground in between the two teens._

"_I know how I'm supposed to volley...it just doesn't work out very well," she pointed out._

_Yahiko laughed. "Let's start at the very beginning then since we have the whole period to practice our technique," he told her as he cleared the few feet between them, picking up the ball along the way, and came over to stand in front of her. "Show me how you hold your hands when you prepare to volley."_

_So Saki showed Yahiko. In response, he clucked his tongue._

"_Not like that," he said, placing the ball on the ground. Then he grabbed her hands and positioned her fingers correctly to receive the ball. "Like this," he said when they were positioned properly. Then he abruptly let go of her hands and dropped his to his side._

_Saki's face bore the traces of a faint blush and she looked thoughtfully at Yahiko who was now staring pointedly at the ground. Then she smiled for the first time during their interaction._

"_So like this?" she asked as she bent down to pick up the ball. She threw it in the air and volleyed it straight up, catching it when it came back down the second time._

_Yahiko had looked up to watch her. "Like that," he said, and his smile returned._

* * *

The scene with Ren finished and Kyoko let out the laughter she had not allowed herself to express when she was in character. She was actually very adept at volleyball, and pretending to be bad had been fun. Meanwhile, Ren smiled at her. Filming with Kyoko in this way was...fun, and he was looking forward to more scenes of a similar nature before everything started to get more serious.

"Good work you two," Shingai called out as Ren, Kyoko and everyone else cleared the set. "The atmosphere for that interaction between you was perfect. Kyoko, when we get back to the studio, get ready for your next scene and come meet me in the editing room. I want you to watch the footage from last week to help you get in the mind set for this next scene.

"And Ren," he continued, "if I remember correctly you have a few interviews to attend to but you'll be back later to resume filming?"

Ren nodded his head.

"Good, good," the director muttered absentmindedly, already thinking of what he had to organize next.

Later, Kyoko was waiting for Shingai to press play so she could review with him some of the footage from the week before in preparation for the scenes she was about to shoot. They were supposed to directly follow the edited clips she was watching, but the inside of the set for her house hadn't been completed as of last week. Now it was ready for her and the cameras. The director hit play.

* * *

"_The family restaurant?" Saki asked in disbelief, looking up at the brother who had picked her up from school._

"_Yes. Mom and dad said they wanted to meet with us all here when you were done school. Apparently they have something to tell us. We're the last ones," he replied, walking inside._

"_And why couldn't we just meet at home? Then I could have ridden my bike back, and Jun wouldn't have had to come to school, and then Miki-chan wouldn't have seen him, and I could have avoided all the questions she'll have about him tomorrow," Saki muttered, as she shook her head and followed her brother into the establishment._

_Inside, she found the restaurant empty save for her immediate family._

"_Saki-chan," her mother greeted her._

_Saki took in the small table her three older brothers and parents were seated at. Her mother and father were at opposite ends, her brothers filled seats on either side of the table between them. It was obvious that her mother was exhausted. Saki's father also looked tired and sad. Her older brothers seemed as confused as she was._

"_Saki-chan, take a seat please," her father told her. His voice was rough and his eyes were red. It appeared that he had been crying._

_Saki complied, though not without voicing her concerns. "What's going on?" she asked. "Why are we here?"_

_Her father cleared his throat and looked to her mother, who stood up from her seat._

"_I'm not going to sugar coat it for you kids. You're old enough to take this at face value. Your father and I are splitting up. I won't be returning to the house," her mother declared._

_Saki looked from her mother to her father in disbelief._

"_You're kidding us, right?" her middle brother asked, his face mirroring his sister's._

"_Teruo," Saki's father spoke, addressing the brother who had spoken, "your mother and I," and his voice cracked, "we've talked about this and it's for the best."_

"_For the best? After twenty-three years of marriage?" her eldest brother now spoke, his tone angry and hurt._

"_Yoichi, this is not something that's up for discussion," their mother replied. "Your father and I know what we're doing."_

"_But why?" the youngest of Saki's older brothers, Jun, the one who had come to pick her up, asked._

_Saki's mother sighed, opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. She took a deep breath and shut her eyes before trying again. "Your father's cheated on me...more than once...in the last year," she finally explained, tears coming to her eyes. "When I married him, I knew what I was getting into. I was scared and excited to become a part of the Nakamura family business. I didn't expect it to be a normal marriage, but I did expect the same standards to apply. I won't put up with infidelity, I deserve better than that. The divorce papers won't be drawn up and complete for another week or so, and until then I'm taking a much needed vacation out of the country."_

_Saki's face expressed her crushing sorrow._

"_How could you cheat on mom, dad?" Saki asked, her voice filled with her heartbreak, her eyes wide and watering._

_Her father didn't answer, he just stared down at the table top._

"_You won't be able to reach me for the rest of the week. After that, I'll be at your grandfather's place," her mother said. "I need to get going if I want to make my flight."_

"_Aika," her father spoke, looking up, his voice pleading. _

"_That's enough, Arata," her mother replied, her voice shaking. "Goodbye children. I'll be back soon."_

_Saki chased after her mother as she exited the restaurant._

"_Mom," she spoke as soon as she was outside, tears falling from her eyes._

_Her mother turned around, about to climb into her black sports car, her own eyes filled with tears. "Saki-chan," she whispered._

_Saki flung herself into her mother's arms._

"_Don't go."_

"_Shh," her mother soothed her, "it's going to be alright. I just need to get away for a while. I can't be here right now when I'm so hurt and angry with your father, but I promise I'll come back. I'm not going to abandon you."_

"_But it feels that way, mom," Saki said, her voice muffled by her mother's shirt._

"_You're my little girl, and I'd take you with me if you didn't have classes and if they didn't need you," her mother told her, rubbing a hand on her back._

_Saki took a deep breath and stepped back from her mother, wiping her eyes._

"_You'll have to take care of your brothers now, Saki-chan," her mother told her, wiping her own eyes. "As well as your father. God knows they could never take care of themselves."_

_Saki nodded her head gravely and watched as her mother climbed into the car. Saki turned around when the car's engine started, and walked back into the restaurant as the car pulled away._

_Her father and brothers were still sitting at the table in silence._

_When Saki reached the table, Yoichi broke the quiet. "Jun, take Saki home. Teruo and I will stay here with father tonight to...take care of things," her oldest brother ordered._

_Without ceremony, Jun nodded, stood up, and made his way for the door._

_Saki glanced at her father who held his face in his hands once again, her face expressionless though her eyes were puffy and gave clear evidence of the tears she had shed. Then, she followed Jun out._

* * *

"_I'm going to go back and help them out," Jun spoke out through his car's open window to Saki, who stood on the sidewalk outside of a large Western style mansion. "You'll be alright on your own tonight, right?"_

_Saki nodded, her face still expressionless. "I'll be fine. Just go."_

_Jun spared his sister one more glance before he rolled up the window to the car and drove away._

_Saki watched the car disappear down the street before she turned, walked up to her home, pulled out her keys and unlocked the door._

* * *

"So, we'll pick up from when you enter the house. As you know, it will be a lot of short scenes of just you now. I'll keep the crew to a minimum so that it's easier for you to feel the intimacy of the situation," Shingai told Kyoko when the clip had faded to black. "It's going to be important for the audience to see you vulnerable so they can empathize with you."

Kyoko nodded her head. She already knew how her Saki would react in the context of the script and she could already feel the emotions coming to a boil inside her. This scene wouldn't be too hard for her. So Kyoko strode onto one of their indoor sets and took her mark while taking in the masterpiece around her.

They had filmed the scenes outside of her character's home using a Western style mansion nearby, whose owners they had paid a small fee. For the inside of the mansion though, they had finished building two sets so far. She now stood on a set of the ground floor of the house, the entire front missing so the cameras could film the interior, which had a kitchen, a dining room, and a large entrance hall with doors that led to nonexistent rooms, and a staircase to a second floor u-shaped landing with closed doors, one of which was supposed to be the entrance to Saki's room. A separate set consisted only of Saki's room, where many of her scenes would take place.

Kyoko would be moving from the first set to the second, and then back to the first, all within an hour and a half provided everything ran smoothly. Now, she waited patiently for her cue as the director ordered one of the lights to be adjusted.

* * *

_Saki took off her shoes and leather jacket at the front door, and slipped into a pair of slippers. Then she headed into the large kitchen and poured herself a tall glass of water. After she took a few deep gulps, she took the glass with her up the stairs where she came to a door and reached for the handle._

_A door swung open, revealing a room. The floor was a dark, almost reddish, hardwood that complimented the pale pink walls. Against the wall with the door was a large bed with a white bedspread and white pillows - a large white canopy hung over it. The open doors of a walk-in closet on the opposite wall revealed racks of clothes, shoes, and bags. A desk with a sleek new laptop sat in one corner next to a pair of curtained doors that presumably led to an outer balcony. Bookshelves stood next to the desk, and a beanbag chair and lamp sat in the corner on the other side of the curtained doors. A few pictures and paintings hung on the walls, adding some colour to the scene._

_Saki placed her glass of water on the dark wood night stand next to the bed and then she flopped down onto it face first, and screamed into the sheets._

_A few seconds of silence passed, where Saki just continued to lay face down on her bed, and then as abruptly as she had flopped down, she sat up, crossed her legs, and started crying._

"_Why?" she muttered, grabbing a pillow and holding it to her chest. "Why did dad cheat on mom? Why is my family falling apart? What are we going to do?"_

_She paused for a moment, staring blankly at the comforter on her bed._

"_And why is the stupid family business so much more important to all of them than that?" she yelled, throwing the pillow she held to her body at her closet, where it smacked into one of the open doors with a soft thud. "Yoichi, Teruo, Jun, dad! All of them are at the stupid restaurant waiting to meet with stupid clients and stupid family members part of the stupid _business_," she continued yelling, sneering at the last word._

_She breathed heavily for a few moments, calming herself down. "How could I not have seen this coming?" she asked herself, shaking her head and moving to hold it in her hands. She sighed heavily and raked her fingers through her hair._

_She sat in silence for a bit longer and then abruptly stood up, her face tear stained and carefully blank. She was wearing the jeans she had left the school in so that she could ride her motorcycle home. She reached into her overlarge backpack and pulled out her shiny red helmet, a set of keys, and her licence. She slipped the licence and keys into her pocket and grabbed the helmet before striding out her bedroom door._

_She descended the stairs, grabbed her jacket from the floor and jammed her feet into the boots she hadn't put away when she came in._

* * *

"We'll film you leaving the house, getting on your motorcycle, and driving off after lunch with the tinted lens that should help make it look like it's the right time of day. Then we'll return here and you'll have a break while we film Daisuke and Ryo before we film your final scene for the day with Ren," director Shingai explained.

"Alright," Kyoko said simply, offering the director a small bow, before making her way to the studio's small cafeteria to grab her lunch.

After obtaining one of the boxed lunches from a refrigerator, she scanned the tables that had been set up, looking for a space to sit. Members of the crew and many of the extras from this morning's gym scene, who would be needed later were already seated and eating. A waving hand caught her attention, and she smiled when she saw Daisuke who sat alone at a small table. She made her way over to him and took the free seat across from him.

"You're here a little early for your scenes," she commented, taking her seat.

Daisuke smiled. "What can I say? I love the food," he answered, taking a bite as if to prove his point.

Actually, he was there so early because he knew Ren would not be there. Even though they had been working on _Mob Daughter _barely a week, already Daisuke had realized that whenever Ren and Kyoko were together on set for lunch, they would eat together. And yes, Ren's manager ate with them, and yes, it seemed that a good part of the reason why was that Kyoko seemed to feel it was her responsibility to make sure Ren ate properly - something Kijima had told him had been a regular occurrence when he had been working with the both of them on _Dark Moon_ - but it still made him just a _little_ bit jealous.

Kyoko smiled at Daisuke, digging into her own meal.

"So how did your scenes go last week?" Kyoko asked, making conversation. "Shingai-san wanted to show me but they weren't finished editing them together yet."

"They were great. Really easy to shoot, no NGs," he answered, reflecting on the long scene he had filmed last week that would follow Kyoko's individual scenes filmed today in the actual drama. In them, his character had gone with his father and a few other men to Kyoko's character Saki's family restaurant where his father had confronted Saki's father about stealing his jobs and clients to which Saki's father had simply brushed him off. The confrontation had continued and escalated, ending only when men around the room, including Saki's brothers had pulled out guns and said that they had exhausted their welcome. His father had left, but only after saying that Saki's father should watch his back.

Today he would film the scene where his character's father would tell him that he knew Saki's father had a daughter who attended his high school. Daisuke's character would answer that he knew who she was. He would then be ordered to try and get close to Saki and gain her trust so that she could be used against her father in some way. He would accept his orders, willing to do anything to help his father.

"That's good. I'm really excited to see the finished product," Kyoko told him, interrupting his thoughts. "Shingai-san seems so happy with what everyone's been doing, and the crew say that we're making very quick progress and have stayed perfectly on the optimistic schedule Shingai-san made."

"It's because there's some great chemistry on this set," Hayashi Ryo, the actor playing the rival mob boss and Daisuke's father, answered, plopping down into a seat next to Kyoko. "By the way, good afternoon."

"Good afternoon, Hayashi-san," Kyoko replied. Daisuke echoed her greeting, after which Kyoko spoke up again. "What do you mean by great chemistry?"

Ryo looked at the newbie actress and smiled. "Great chemistry my dear is when the actors on a set work well together without having to try hard. They play off each other easily and the relationships between them feel real and are easily believable," he explained. "For example, the scenes between you and Hiromi-san last week exemplified the great chemistry between you two. No one who watched the interaction between you both would think you were faking your emotions."

Kyoko blushed. "It's all because Hiromi-san is such a great actress," Kyoko insisted. She might know who her character was, but it was Hiromi playing her beloved mother that allowed Kyoko to feel strongly about the woman opposite her.

Ryo gave her a look. "No. It's not," he finally said. "If you weren't a talented actress yourself, Kyoko-chan, the relationship would have been one sided, there would be no deep feeling coming from your end, but there was. You work well together and there's a real connection between you, though you hardly know each other. But it's not just you and Hiromi-san. Shingai-san picked well when he put together this cast and you'll come to realize that as you get more experience on different television and film sets. Scenes have been coming along well and quickly because the actors here get along and connect. There's been no awkwardness or strain behind any scene so far."

"It's like we're all one big happy family," Daisuke added, and Ryo reached out to ruffle the young man's hair.

"Exactly," he said, looking at Kyoko who was hiding the grin that had sprung to her face when Ryo had removed his hand from Daisuke's hair revealing a ruffled mess.

* * *

"Good afternoon, Kyoko-san."

Kyoko turned around where she stood, just outside of the gym inside the school, to come face to face with Ren and Yashiro.

"Good afternoon," she answered tugging at the hem of her short skirt. She was wearing her school uniform costume. It was in the sailor suit style, but the skirt had been shortened considerably in keeping with Saki's personality. "How did your interviews go?"

"Very well," Ren answered her. He was already dressed in his own school uniform costume, ready to start filming. "Apparently it's already rumoured that I'm working with Shingai-san on his new project, and the interviewers did try a few questions in that direction, though I didn't answer one way or the other."

"There are already rumours? I guess that's to be expected though, especially for something you're involved with," Kyoko replied thoughtfully.

She was actually surprised that the entire country didn't already know about _Mob Daughter _and its cast, but Shingai was carefully keeping everything under wraps until the press conference on Friday. He had told Kyoko that the promotional posters were already done and would be ready to be released on the same day. She also knew that Sho's video would already be ready to debut on Friday - Asami had mentioned to her that they needed to release the single as quickly as possible to promote a new tour.

Kyoko wondered if there would be many interviewers at the press conference on Friday, and if they would have any questions for her when they saw her name listed with equal billing to all her better known co-stars' names on the posters. On the _Dark Moon _posters, her name had been in smaller print than the other actors' because she was a new actress with no real star billing, but she had just been happy to be mentioned there at all. Plus, it was her first credited role - in the Kyurara commercial and Sho's music video, she had been nameless.

Ren watched as Kyoko seemed to think something over and smiled at the thoughtful expression on her face.

"There are always rumours circulating about the Tsuruga Ren," Yashiro commented. "Interestingly enough, I also heard some talk about you today, Kyoko-san."

"What?" Kyoko spluttered, stunned out of her reverie.

"While I was sitting on the sidelines watching Ren give one of his interviews, I heard some of the show's crew talking and your name came up. Apparently, everyone in show business is wondering why the short article on you appeared on _Celebrity Beat_'s website over the weekend. Despite the fact that you've worked with both Ren and Fuwa Sho and been in _Dark Moon_, you're still not considered a serious actress since you haven't received any leading roles - at least that anyone knows of. Everyone's wondering if _Celebrity Beat _is ahead of the game, or if they're just desperate for material. And because they don't know which it is, everyone is curious about you," Yashiro told her.

"Oh," Kyoko replied. She had surmised something similar after she had read Harada Tsutomu's article about her, but hearing it from Yashiro's lips seemed to make it all the more real.

"After the press conference and the release of the promotional posters for _Mob Daughter _on Friday, I imagine everyone will want to interview you," Yashiro continued.

Kyoko looked at him in silence as she contemplated this. It seemed like a reasonable enough assumption given the attention she had gotten from the paparazzi after the short and vague article about her had been published on the _Celebrity Beat _website, but she just couldn't imagine being in demand for interviews like Ren.

"Nope. That's just impossible," she declared shaking her head.

Ren laughed at Kyoko's antics. Even after she had seen the fruit of Harada Tsutomu's article, she didn't believe that a starring role would only serve to make her more popular.

"I don't think so," Ren began, "and I bet that Sawara-san will be anticipating a response from the media on Friday and that you'll hear from him before the week is out to discuss how you'll deal with it."

Kyoko just shook her head as the director came to tell them that they were ready to begin shooting the last long group of scenes for the day.

* * *

_As Saki exited the gym, now wearing her school uniform, she wasn't looking where she was going, and she crashed into Yahiko, who was reading a notice on one of the bulletin boards by the gym._

"_I'm so sorry, Yahiko-san," she mumbled, looking at the ground, her cheeks pink._

"_Ah, no problem," he replied, shrugging it off as he looked at Saki._

_Meanwhile students passed by in the background and a few more people exited the gym._

"_Are you okay?" he suddenly asked, his face becoming concerned._

"_Oh...I'm fine. No injuries, though it would serve me right since it was my fault. And right after you helped me so much in phys ed as well," she said, looking up._

"_That's not what I meant, though I'm glad to hear it. But Saki-san, you usually smile and laugh a lot more," Yahiko told her cautiously. "I know we're not close friends, but we attended the same middle school and we have been in the same class before and even share a few classes now. I've always seen you with a cheerful disposition, but I've noticed today that you aren't acting like yourself. Is everything alright?"_

_Saki stared at the young man before her, and slowly, a smile came to her face, but it was clear that it was a sad smile, not a happy one._

"_Yeah," she answered, struggling ever so slightly with the word. "Everything is fine. Thank you for worrying about me though, Yahiko-san."_

_Yahiko considered her for a moment longer and nodded his head, accepting what was obviously a lie._

"_I don't mean to be presumptuous, but if you ever need to talk to someone, Saki-san, you'll find a willing listener in me," he told her, and turned away from her, taking a step down the hallway._

_A whirl of emotions flashed across Saki's face. Pain, sadness, gratitude, relief. She reached out and grabbed for his hand._

"_Are you free to have lunch with me?" she inquired, gazing at his face, her eyes questioning._

* * *

_Saki paced back and forth on a small landing outside a set of back doors to the school, talking to herself in a low whisper: "Why did I ask him to have lunch with me? I hardly know him! And I don't need to talk about this... Oh, who am I kidding? I need to talk about this. But what am I even going to say? I should talk to Miki-chan, or one of the girls, or I could try to speak with one of my brothers... No. My brothers will say I'm being childish like they did this morning, and even Miki-chan didn't notice anything was wrong... But Yahiko-san did."_

"_I did what?"_

_Saki whirled around, holding a hand to her heart. She hadn't noticed the door opening and Yahiko coming outside._

"_You scared me Yahiko-san!" Saki exclaimed._

"_I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention," he replied with a grin._

_Saki did not offer a smile back._

_He sighed and took a seat on the short staircase that led from the landing outside the doors to the ground. He pulled out a bento from his backpack and started eating._

_Saki watched him, disbelief, anger, confusion, and then gratitude flashing across her face. She took the seat next to him and watched him for a moment more. At first glance, he seemed to be ignoring her, but his attention did not seem to be on his food. It almost looked like he was waiting very patiently. She cleared her throat and he looked to her, immediately paying attention._

"_I... I don't know where to begin," Saki spoke. Yahiko waited quietly. "It seems like my whole world is falling apart, and I really don't want to burden anyone with my troubles but you...you noticed...and I just need to talk about it with someone."_

"_What happened?" he prompted her, his tone concerned._

"_My...my parents split up. After twenty-three years of marriage they just...ended it. My mom left, my dad just looks pathetic and sad, and it seems my brothers don't even care - they're just...dealing with it. But how am I not supposed to care? My family is broken," she explained staring at the folded hands in her lap._

"_My parents divorced when I was twelve," he told her after a few seconds of silence._

_Saki looked up into his eyes. "How did you handle it?" she asked, the words no more than a whisper._

"_Not well," he said with a laugh and a sad smile of his own. "I blamed myself at first, even though I knew it wasn't my fault. Then I tried to fix it, and I had to learn that I couldn't change anything. I hated their decision and I wanted to hate them for it, but then a friend who had recently lost his father helped me to realize how lucky I was. Yes, my family wasn't the same happy unit anymore, but at least I still had both my parents in my life."_

"_I am grateful for that...but it really doesn't make it any less sad," Saki noted, after considering his words._

_He offered her another sad smile. "No it doesn't. But you can't change their decision. They reached it for a reason, and whatever that reason was, it was strong enough to break up a long marriage. I'm not saying you should be happy about it or ignore it. But once you accept that it's out of your hands, I promise that you'll be able to start feeling better, Saki-san," Yahiko told her._

_Saki rested her head in her hands. "Thank you for coming here and listening to me, Yahiko-san. It's more than I had any right to expect of you considering how poorly we know each other," Saki said, offering him a small bow of her head._

"_How poorly we knew each other," Yahiko pointed out. "Saki-san, I would not dare to assume that I know everything about you, and I know we have never been close, but I help out my friends, Saki-san, and I count you among them."_

_Saki closed her eyes and when she opened them, they held unshed tears. She stuck out her hand, offering it to the young man beside her._

"_As you are counted among mine, Yahiko-kun," she finally answered, offering him a small, genuinely happy smile._

_He shook her hand._

_Then they both settled into a comfortable silence as Saki pulled out her own bento and they started eating._

* * *

"Again, great work," Shingai told the two actors as they finished a fourth take of their last scene for the day. Shingai had been unsatisfied with the end of the scene between the two actors until he had decided that Saki should shake Yahiko's hand as she accepted the offer of a more than superficial friendship. "I think that's perfect now. There's a physical connection as well as an emotional one between you two."

Kyoko bowed her head and Ren nodded.

As they travelled back to the studio, Yashiro with them, Kyoko's mind whirled. She had been okay acting out friendship with Ren, but she couldn't help but start to worry about how that would change when her character was supposed to start falling in love. Sho's video had worked out well enough, but Asami was not the perfectionist Shingai was, and the woman was also not shooting a drama where the characters' emotions and interactions were the principle focus. Kyoko didn't know whether she would be able to perform to a standard that would please everyone. And even more importantly, would she be able to hold her own against Ren?

Her and Ren and Yashiro parted ways when they reached the dressing rooms, agreeing to meet up outside them when they were done. As Kyoko shut her door behind her, beginning to change out of her costume, her mind naturally shifted from thoughts of her work to thoughts about the outing she was supposed to be going on with Ren on their way home. Grocery shopping. The idea was still as bizarre to her as ever, but now she was thinking more along the lines of practicality. When they had gone out to eat the few times before, Kyoko had still been unknown and Ren was not followed by the paparazzi, so they didn't have to worry about being photographed or even recognized - people generally assumed Tsuruga Ren could not possibly walk among them, especially with a girl like Kyoko, so though they mused about his identity, ultimately they rarely made the correct assumption.

Now though, Kyoko was just a little worried. She didn't think it was likely, but there was a chance some people might recognize her now if they followed_ Celebrity Beat, _and if they did, it wouldn't be such a leap to assume the man with her was Ren. All it would take was one person and then both of them would be in a bad situation.

She was about to slip off her uniform top to put on the white t-shirt she had worn to the set that morning when she realized she had forgotten to take off her wig. She approached the mirror and lifted her hands to her head, about to take the wig off when she realized how conveniently it masked her identity. No one would recognize her easily with long black hair for now, and though Ren had his height, if he were to wear a baseball cap, people would be hard pressed to assume it was Tsuruga Ren with the young dark haired girl at the grocery store.

Kyoko strolled out of her dressing room in jeans, her own shoes, the uniform top, and her wig and found the costume designer. She asked if they had an extra black wig and baseball cap she could borrow for the evening and received a favourable reply. The costume designer would find them and send them to her dressing room. So Kyoko returned to her room and slipped off the wig and the shirt, changing into her own white t-shirt. Someone knocked on the door and Kyoko opened it to find one of the costume designer's assistants with the items she had requested.

She thanked the young man and returned to the middle of her room so she could put the new wig on in front of the mirror. It was styled like Saki's hair, but without the coloured streaks. She grabbed her bag and the baseball cap, and entered the hallway, coming face to face with Ren and Yashiro.

"Um, Kyoko-san, I think you forgot to take a part of your costume off," Yashiro pointed out.

"Nope. The wig's an extra, and the costume department let me borrow it. And this is for you," she answered offering the baseball cap to Ren.

Both men stared at her in confusion. "What?" she asked. "If you're still going to come to the grocery store with me, I want to avoid any chance of us being recognized. We didn't seem to have any problems in public before, but now that there's a bigger possibility people will recognize my face, that increases the chance that they'll correctly identify you. I insist we be a little more careful."

Ren smiled at Kyoko. He had started to worry about the same thing as he was getting ready.

"I don't have to wear it now, do I?" he asked her, taking the hat from her hand, his voice and expression teasing.

"Of course not," Kyoko answered.

So, Ren agreed to wear the hat, and Yashiro grinned to himself, proud for setting up this exchange and the event that would follow.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't need anything?" Kyoko asked Ren for what seemed like the hundredth time as they stood in the checkout line, holding five baskets of food between them.

Ren shook his head. "I'm sure, Kyoko-san," he told her again.

Kyoko didn't even seem to have heard him. "Oh, we're up," she commented, starting to place the things in her baskets on the conveyer belt that would carry them towards the cashier. Ren copied her.

"Make sure the eggs are last," Kyoko mentioned as she continued to place items in front of her, "that way they won't get squished by everything."

Ren did as he was told and watched Kyoko as she watched the young woman behind the cash register scan everything and place it carefully into bags.

Ren did not shop for food very often, and when he did, he just grabbed a few items and was quickly out the door. With Kyoko, it had been a whole new experience. She had checked things selecting for those with the latest expiry dates, had explained to him how she chose what slices of meat to select, had checked fruits for bruises, and had carefully examined vegetables looking for the best and freshest before selecting one. She had also bought more rice than Ren thought she would need before she returned again to the store, but she had explained that since it was on sale and since rice kept well until it was cooked, she was stocking up on it now.

As the cashier rang the total up, Kyoko dug around her bag for her wallet, pulling it out and presenting the cashier with crisp banknotes. Ren was tempted to offer to pay, but knew that Kyoko would not accept. Instead, he settled for carrying most of her bags out to his car, where he placed them in the backseat and then watched as Kyoko did the same with the ones she carried. They climbed into the vehicle and when the doors were shut behind them, Ren pulled the baseball cap off his head.

Kyoko laughed. "It didn't look that bad," she told him. She still wore her wig.

Ren scowled. "But it was itchy," he told her, scratching his head.

Kyoko laughed again, just as Ren had intended, but was interrupted by the sound of her ringing phone. As Ren started the car, she dug through her bag for the phone, answering it when it was in her grasp.

"Hello?"

"Kyoko, when are you going to be back?"

"Moko!" Kyoko exclaimed excitedly as Ren pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road.

"Don't Moko me. Chiori's mother has already dropped her off with her things, and you said you were supposed to be done work an hour ago," Kanae answered.

Kyoko looked to Ren and mouthed a question to him as she pulled off the wig: "How long?"

To which Ren answered: "Five minutes."

"I'll be there in about five minutes," she told her best friend.

"Good," Kanae answered brusquely. And then she hung up.

Kyoko stared at the phone in her hand. Why had Kanae not sounded happy on the phone? She had sounded happy enough yesterday when Kyoko had spoken with her. Were things going wrong already? Did that phone call mean that living with her friends was not going to be as fun as she had imagined? No. Kanae was probably just being her usual grumpy self.

When they arrived at the apartment building and Ren pulled into his spot in the underground lot, he once again took the bulk of Kyoko's groceries and carried them to the elevator, insisting that he would take them as far as her kitchen for her. Kyoko nodded her head in acceptance and pressed the call button and then the button for her floor when the elevator arrived since she had more freedom to move her hands.

Her and Ren rode the elevator in a comfortable silence that broke only when the elevator opened on Kyoko's floor and she saw her front door wide open, and heard absolutely nothing coming from within.

"Do you think everything's alright in there?" she questioned Ren, suddenly a little afraid to proceed forward.

Ren looked at her in amusement. "I'm sure everything's fine, Kyoko-san," he told her, just as pillow flew out the door. "Or maybe not," he took back his statement.

Kyoko stared at the pillow in disbelief. Then someone strode out of the open apartment, yelling over their shoulder: "You missed the couch!". They bent down to retrieve the pillow, picking it up before they noticed the two figures standing in the hallway, their arms filled with shopping bags.

"Kyoko? Tsuruga-san?" Kanae questioned, her face taking on a confused expression. Kanae was unsurprised to see Kyoko, but she was stunned to see Ren. Were him and Kyoko closer than she thought?

"Moko!" Kyoko exclaimed quickly, rushing to her friend and trying to hug her with her arms filled with shopping bags.

Kanae winced as the edge of some package dug into her side. "Why don't you come put those down inside _our_ apartment?" she suggested, smirking at Ren over Kyoko's shoulder. Whatever Ren was doing here, it didn't matter because she was living with Kyoko, and Kyoko was her best friend.

Ren got the distinct feeling that he was very unwanted there, but he still had his arms full of groceries, so he followed the two girls inside where he saw a mess of boxes in the living room/dining room and another girl standing by the couch, setting up pillows, a phone cradled in one hand.

"Mom, we talked about this," Chiori whispered into the phone. "You can't come visit because that defeats the entire purpose of accepting Takarada-san's gracious offer. I'll come visit you at home at least every other day on my way home from work. Yoshimoto-san agreed to drive me because even she thinks this will be good for me... Okay?... I love you Mom. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye."

Chiori hung up the phone and looked to see Kanae, Kyoko, and Ren standing just inside the doorway.

"Chiori-san!" Kyoko greeted her final roommate excitedly.

"Just Chiori, Kyoko. We're roommates now. I think we can drop the formalities," Chiori replied, slipping her phone into a pocket. She offered Ren a nod. "Tsuruga-san. What have you got there by the way, Kyoko?" Chiori finally asked, motioning to the bags in Kyoko's hands.

"Oh!" Kyoko replied. She had almost forgotten about the groceries in her arms. "It's food, and I need to put some of it in the fridge. Ren-san, the kitchen's this way." And Kyoko walked into the kitchen, Ren following right behind her.

"_Ren-san_?" Kanae asked aloud in disbelief, her eyes narrowing. "When did they get so close?"

Chiori watched her new roommate carefully. She did not know Kanae well yet, but the two had bonded when they had first met over their mutual disdain of actors who landed roles without putting in any of the hard work they themselves did. And though Chiori hardly knew Kanae, she had already noticed that Kanae valued Kyoko's friendship - but then again, how could she not? Kyoko was special, probably one of a kind. So was Kanae perhaps jealous then of the new closeness there seemed to be between Kyoko and Ren? Chiori would just have to keep watching.

Kanae eventually strolled into their new kitchen, Chiori on her heels, where Ren had placed the groceries on the counter so Kyoko could unpack them and put them away.

"So, Tsuruga-san," Kanae began. "What brings you over here? Did you drive Kyoko home from work?"

"I did," he answered simply.

"Well that was nice of you," Chiori stated. Ren was an actor who she could respect. She had never worked with him before but his reputation preceded him. He was actually talented and gave his all in his performances, working hard to develop his characters. Of course that didn't mean that she particularly liked him, but she didn't hate him.

"It only made sense," Ren answered Chiori, though he watched Kanae. "I mean, I do live just downstairs."

Kanae felt her mouth drop open before she could pull together an uncaring facade. "Is... is that so?" she finally managed to ask.

Her mind was buzzing. Ren was living downstairs from them. Kyoko now called him by his first name. Was she losing her best friend to someone else? She looked to Kyoko and considered how happily the young woman had greeted her and how excited Kyoko was to live with her. No. It was simply not possible. And now that her and Kyoko were living together in the same apartment - even if Ren was just downstairs - she felt their friendship might only get stronger.

Ren nodded his head in answer to Kanae's question and took in Chiori behind her. The other girl just looked thoughtful. Ren decided it might be a good time to take his leave.

"I should go and let you get settled in, Kyoko-san, Amamiya-san, Kotonami-san. I'm sure you have much to discuss," he told them.

Kyoko, absorbed in putting away the food she had purchased, let her attention focus now on the friends in the room with her. She nodded her head towards Ren. "Thank you for your help, Ren-san. I'll see you..." and she paused as she thought about her schedule, "Wednesday afternoon."

"By the way, do any of you need a ride tomorrow morning?" Ren asked. He wanted to extend the offer only to Kyoko, but knew that it would be rude to do so in front of her friends. He had half a mind to remind her she should walk him to the door so that he could maybe say goodbye in private, but tonight was Kyoko's first night with her friends and he wouldn't bother her with that.

It was Chiori who answered his question: "My manager's coming to pick me up tomorrow morning, so she can take both Kyoko and me to the studio for _Box "R"_ and we can drop Kanae off where she needs to be on the way. Thank you for the offer though." Chiori watched as Kanae relaxed minutely upon hearing her answer. A self-satisfied smile came to Chiori's lips. She was right. Kanae held some sort of antagonistic feelings towards Ren.

Ren nodded his head once more, and swept from the room and out the still open front door, pondering Kyoko's strange friends, as Kyoko returned to putting away her groceries.

"So, Kyoko. Do you have anything fit for dinner in that fridge?" Kanae asked Kyoko when Ren was gone, resolving to ask Kyoko about the actor when the two girls had some time alone. Kanae had to know what exactly was going on between them.

Kyoko smiled. "Why don't you and Chiori finish getting settled in while I make dinner. It'll be ready in forty-five minutes."

* * *

As the three young women sat around the dining room table, sharing the meal Kyoko had prepared, all of them were absorbed in their thoughts.

Chiori was thinking about how oddly right this arrangement felt and how miraculously she bore no antagonism for either of her roommates.

Kanae's mind was absorbed in a similar manner. She thought about how it actually didn't seem too terrible to be sharing an apartment with Kyoko _and_ Chiori. She had had the opportunity to talk a little more with Chiori, just the two of them, when they had been alone in the apartment, and she had found that Chiori was the kind of person she could actually stand.

Kyoko was just brimming with happiness. She had never dreamed that she would be sharing an apartment with her two closest female friends. It was perfect. A wish come true... though it was a little strange. She had had to move here out of necessity, but Kanae had already owned a small apartment and Chiori had lived with her mother.

"Kanae? Chiori? Why are you two here? Not that I'm complaining, but don't you two already have homes?" Kyoko asked.

"How could I pass up a free apartment? My apartment was well enough but this is so much better and now I can save up for the future once this - whatever this is - is over," Kanae answered motioning her hands to the surrounding space. "But you still lived with your mother, right?" Kanae asked, directing her question to Chiori.

Chiori swallowed the bite she had been chewing. "Yeah, but when Takarada-san told me about this, I was kind of eager to get away from home...even if it's only temporarily. My mother wasn't going to let me initially, but Takarada-san spoke with her and convinced her that it would be good for my career to experience some independence and live with some other young actresses for awhile. She understands that I'm getting older and she really wants me to succeed, so that was enough to satisfy her for now. Plus, the building's in a good neighbourhood and has great security, I won't be alone, and I can go home whenever I want. It's a safe way for her to start letting me go," she explained.

"I'm amazed that they did this for us," Kanae mused. "Though I guess we can thank that Harada Tsutomu as much as Takarada-san. Still...buying an apartment for the Love Me Section? And you're not even part of LME, right? Though you are part of Love Me," Kanae asked Chiori, needing clarification. Takarada had told Kanae this would be an apartment for his Love Me members to grow. She had almost choked over the flowery language he had used to describe it to her, but had still been eager to accept the free board.

"Right," Chiori answered, "but part of the reason I get to be part of the Love Me Section is because my agency, Softhat, struck a deal with Takarada Lory. The agency's small and I'm their biggest earner so they really wanted to keep me, but I really wanted to join Love Me at LME. It's not well known, but Lory became a silent partner with a minor share in Softhat so that he too would be interested in keeping me there to see a return on his investment. Except for the fact that I'm not with LME, as a Love Me member, I'm the same as either of you two."

Kanae nodded, processing the new information.

"Well whatever your reasons, I'm glad you're both here," Kyoko told them. "And I'm glad Lory decided this would be a good investment. This is going to be so much fun. It'll be like an extended sleep over and we can braid each other's hair and have pillow fights and..." Kyoko continued to babble happily, imagining their future.

Kanae considered her weird friend, then looked to Chiori whose face mirrored her own disgust for the activities Kyoko was still listing.

Kanae threw an egg roll at Kyoko's head. Chiori copied her.

Kyoko looked momentarily stunned for a second and then she started laughing. The other girls quickly following suit.

The girls knew they were sure to have their problems, but in that moment, they also knew it would be nice to live with each other regardless, for however long they had.

* * *

**Authoress' Notes: And so it's done! My longest chapter yet. I know there's not much action...it's mostly to help us get to the next part of the story. I did consider chopping this chapter in half, but there are so many scenes from the drama and in my mind those don't really count. Plus the simple Kanae, Chiori, and Kyoko new home introduction was just flowing out of me and I wanted to show how easily the three Love Me members actually seem to get along. I mean, Kanae and Chiori are not best friends in the manga, but upon their first meeting they already seem to come to some kind of understanding and I think they would get along well enough given the chance. Also to note, you probably won't get as much of the drama anymore. I'm only writing about so many scenes to set it up and get going with it...so there should be fewer scenes in the future...but don't hold me to that! If you like it, let me know and I may continue to include snippets.  
**

**Anyways. Hopefully I'll get another chapter out before my break is over, but I'm not making any promises. And also, I hope you enjoyed this one. Remember, I take into consideration everything you say in reviews and try to use it to make my story better and to make it make more sense.**


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